State Police investigating Rogers shooting involving Benton County deputies

BENTONVILLE -- Arkansas State Police is investigating a shooting in a Northwest Arkansas Wal-Mart parking lot involving Benton County Sheriff's Office deputies.

Bill Sadler, a spokesman for the State Police, said Tuesday the Prosecutor's Office asked the agency to investigate the shooting. Sadler referred all questions to Nathan Smith, prosecutor, Tuesday afternoon.

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A resolution to appoint Meyer Gilbert as Benton County interim sheriff is on the agenda for the Quorum Court meeting set for 6 p.m. Thursday in the Quorum Courtroom in the County Administration Building, 215 E. Central Ave. in Bentonville.

Source: Staff report

Smith confirmed the State Police is investigating and will turn its file over to his office when the investigation is complete. Smith will determine if the shooting was justified. No one was injured in the incident.

That incident in Rogers was mentioned in a Monday memorandum sent by the mayors and police chiefs of Bentonville and Rogers to Benton County justices of the peace just hours before the Committee of the Whole was to start interviewing candidates for interim sheriff.

City officials cited four "sting" operations by the Sheriff's Office in Rogers this year, the most recent happening Friday at the Wal-Mart resulting in shots being fired.

Deputies notified Rogers dispatch center shortly before midnight Friday they planned an operation in the parking lot of a "major local retailer." The requesting deputy asked Rogers police stay out of the area, according to the memorandum. Less than 10 minutes later, Rogers police were informed shots had been fired in the parking lot "placing an untold number of citizens and passersby in extreme danger," according to the memorandum.

The memo also detailed an operation Feb. 3 resulting in a high-speed chase and an accident; a second in which deputies were reported speeding through Rogers neighborhoods in a search that also included a helicopter and an operation resulting in a high-speed pursuit on Thursday.

"These operations again result in serious citizen concerns and an overwhelming number of calls to our law enforcement agencies with little or no meaningful information being shared by the deputies involved," the memo states.

City officials also cited three accidents involving civilians in Bentonville since October resulting from deputies operating their vehicles at high speeds, sometimes exceeding 100 mph.

"These instances are chilling, and, if this behavior continues, it is not a matter of if, but rather when a citizen is killed as a consequence," city officials wrote in the memo.

The city officials asked the justices of the peace to discuss their concerns with anyone they might name as interim sheriff.

Meyer Gilbert was chosen Monday night from eight candidates to serve the remainder of Sheriff Kelley Cradduck's term.

Gilbert on Tuesday said he read the memo and plans to meet with mayors and chiefs individually to discuss solutions.

Cradduck faces a felony charge he tampered with a public record and a misdemeanor tampering charge. He's set for a three-day jury trial in September, but a hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Quorum Court approved paying Cradduck nearly $80,000 to resign.

Rogers Police Chief Hayes Minor said Tuesday the memorandum speaks for itself. Minor said Monday was the appropriate time to send the memo. Officials in both cities wanted to make sure county leaders were aware of the issues with the Sheriff's Office, Minor said.

Benton County Chief Deputy Richie Conner, who's in charge of the office until Gilbert comes aboard, said Tuesday he didn't feel it was appropriate for him to respond to the memorandum. Conner said he believes Gilbert has the experience and knowledge to handle the situation.

Conner said there are problems between the Sheriff's Office and other law enforcement agencies, but those are fixable and is confident Gilbert can repair the relationships.

"It's not a new issue and something I talked about doing the campaign," said Shawn Holloway about issues mentioned in the memorandum. "Communications have been a problem for several months and it ramped up the last few weeks."

Holloway, who until recently was a major at the Sheriff's Office, defeated Cradduck in the Republican primary in March. Holloway faces Glenn Latham, an independent candidate, in the November election.

Holloway said he has talked with Minor and Bentonville Chief Jon Simpson about the issues. One solution is to get deputies back patrolling in the county. Another is for agencies working together in a task force instead of some agencies duplicating work, Holloway said.

The Sheriff's Office's lack of a relationship with other law enforcement agencies has been a issue for months, Latham said.

"It's the same complaints people have been saying for awhile, but no one would listen until the mayors and police chiefs complained about the Sheriff's Office," Latham said.

Gilbert's road to becoming interim sheriff led him from Clarksdale, Miss., to Siloam Springs with side trips to Kosovo and Iraq.

Gilbert has requested an organizational chart of the office to review.

"I will be looking at making the changes that are necessary," he said. "Starting at the command staff level. That's the priority. We'll get the command staff set and go from there."

Gilbert sees the problems at the Sheriff's Office as a leadership issue.

"Benton County was broken from the top down, not the bottom up," Gilbert told the justices of the peace during his interview Monday. "That is how I would rebuild that department."

Gilbert, 51, has spent more than 22 years in law enforcement beginning with the Clarksdale, Miss., Police Department where he reached the rank of captain. He left that department to serve with the United Nations mission in Kosovo where he was chief of regional police operations from 2001 to 2003, overseeing the law enforcement operations of more than 1,200 officers in an area with about 463,000 people in six cities and 293 villages.

Gilbert returned to Mississippi in 2009 and became chief deputy with the Coahoma County Sheriff's Office, serving until 2014. He told the justices of the peace he and his wife moved to Northwest Arkansas as they were looking for a place to raise a family. Since 2014 he has worked with Arvest Bank as a deposit risk management manager.

William "Whit" Read, police chief in Clarksdale, said Gilbert is an outstanding choice for Benton County.

"You got yourself a good man," Read said Tuesday. "They've made a fine choice. We worked together for about 10 years at the department. He was a captain and I was a sergeant. He's a fine officer and an excellent commander."

Read said their relationship continued after Gilbert moved to the Coahoma County Sheriff's Office. Gilbert worked hard to keep the different agencies working together, Read said.

The 15 justices of the peace split their initial vote for interim sheriff. Gilbert received six votes, and four other candidates divided the votes of nine justices of the peace.

Four justices of the peace switched support Gilbert after the first vote. That gave him 10 votes, two more than needed.

Michelle Chiocco, justice of the peace, voted for Gilbert on the initial vote. Chiocco said she wanted someone from outside the Sheriff's Office.

"It was eating away at my gut," she said. "I just really felt strongly it should be someone who wasn't a prior sheriff and someone who isn't in the Sheriff's Office. Mr. Gilbert really impressed me."

Barry Moehring, justice of the peace, switched his vote. Moehring initially supported Lynn Hahn. Gilbert was Moehring's second choice, and he felt comfortable changing his vote when the initial results showed Gilbert close to the eight votes he needed.

"After that first vote, it was pretty apparent it wasn't going to be Lynn," Moehring said. "I was comfortable going with my second choice. I think he's going to be an excellent interim sheriff."

Kevin Harrison, justice of the peace, also switched his vote after the initial roll call in which he supported former Sheriff Andy Lee. Harrison said he was looking for a consensus on the Quorum Court.

"I changed my vote because we were so close," Harrison said "Mr. Gilbert was very, very qualified. He had the experience. He's been through it. We were divided. I thought if I could change my vote someone else might."

NW News on 04/27/2016

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