A North Little Rock police sergeant has been placed on paid administrative leave after being accused of assaulting his teenage daughter, the department said Wednesday.
Sgt. Terry Kuykendall, 46, was arrested Saturday and charged with third-degree assault on a family or household member, a Class C misdemeanor. Kuykendall is a 20-year veteran of the department and was the department spokesman for nearly a decade.
The Pulaski County sheriff's office was called about 2:35 p.m. to his home at 4810 Driskill Road in Cabot, according to an incident report. Aimee Webb, 44, told deputies that she had angered Kuykendall by dropping off their 15-year-old daughter late for visitation. She said Kuykendall, who is described as 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, grabbed the girl behind the neck and took her inside.
Webb then heard the girl repeatedly screaming and called 911 after the girl yelled, "Get your hands off my neck," according to the report.
The sheriff's office said Webb recorded the screams on her cellphone.
Kuykendall told deputies that his daughter was being unruly because she didn't want to stay with him that night and that he "guided her into the home with his hand on her shoulder," the report states.
Investigators found no visible injuries on the girl. She first told deputies that Kuykendall had grabbed her neck but then said it was her shoulder, according to the sheriff's office.
Kuykendall was booked in the Pulaski County jail and released on his own recognizance later Saturday. He appeared in Pulaski County District Court on Monday morning and pleaded innocent in the case. His daughter, through Lonoke County Circuit Court, received a temporary order of protection against him.
North Little Rock police spokesman Sgt. Brian Dedrick said Kuykendall is on paid administrative leave while an internal investigation continues. Kuykendall, who was paid $57,031.94 last year, surrendered his badge and service handgun, in accordance with department protocol.
Dedrick said he wasn't aware of any previous disciplinary action against Kuykendall.
"I don't know of anything through internal affairs, any kind of trouble," he said.
Court records show no prior criminal charges against Kuykendall.
According to Arkansas law, third-degree assault on a family or household member occurs when a person "purposely creates apprehension of imminent physical injury."
Kuykendall's attorney, Bill James, said it's the equivalent of scaring someone by saying "boo."
"If you can't cause some kind of apprehension to a 15-year-old child, you can never expect them to do anything you say," James said.
"He's a valuable officer to the North Little Rock police, and now he's not getting to work as a police officer because of this. We've got to be aware of domestic violence, but this is the pendulum swinging completely the wrong way."
Kuykendall's next court date is April 13.
Metro on 02/04/2016