CONWAY -- A letter in which former Faulkner County Sheriff Andy Shock notified Deputy Eugene Watlington that he was being fired for using excessive force said Watlington repeatedly kicked a suspect even though the deputy was not helping other officers trying to arrest the man.
The May 4 arrests of Harvey Martin III, 46, and Christopher Cummings, 29, have led to a federal civil-rights "color of law" investigation. Such investigations examine, at least in part, whether police used excessive force.
Shock's one-page letter, released Thursday to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, was dated July 10 after a review that led Shock to place Watlington and three other deputies -- Bill Kenney, Martin "Sonny" Clifford and Darrel Freeman -- on administrative leave.
The U.S. attorney's office has subpoenaed records related to at least five sheriff's deputies: Watlington, Clifford, Freeman, Brint Romley and Chris Meyers.
Martin's arrest was captured on videotape by a Mayflower police officer who joined a high-speed chase from Mayflower to Conway, where deputies captured Martin and passenger Cummings, 29. Mayflower officer Dalton Elliott, a former sheriff's deputy, did not record Cummings' arrest, which took place a short distance away from Martin's.
Shock, who later left the sheriff's position to become a member of the state Parole Board, said in the letter that it appeared Martin was difficult to subdue but that Martin was "clearly" under the control of several officers who had him on the ground during the struggle.
"You were standing close by but not actively involved in the on-the-ground struggle to cuff the suspect in order to get him under control for transport," Shock said in the letter. "The video shows you kicking the arrestee. Toward the end of the struggle it looks like you kicked the arrestee [five] kicks (that I counted) that I consider to be clearly not needed as a part of the effort to subdue the arrestee."
Shock found that Watlington violated the county's use-of-force policy.
Shock eventually allowed all of the deputies put on leave, except for Watlington, to return to work after concluding, as stated in a news release, that they had "acted within their scope of the use of force policy." Last month Sheriff Matt Rice, who took office Sept. 1, fired Clifford for an unrelated driving-while-intoxicated arrest.
Elliott's videotape began with the pursuit at speeds above 100 mph and didn't end until the fleeing car broke down and Martin was in custody. Along the way, authorities said, Cummings, who was wanted for a parole violation, fired several shots and struck two of the deputies' cars but not the officers.
Cummings and Martin were treated for what Shock has called scrapes and bruises at a Conway hospital and released that same day to the sheriff's office. Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland has said he dropped charges against Martin because Cummings had forced Martin at gunpoint to drive the fleeing car.
Last summer, Hiland concluded that no felony charges were warranted against any of the deputies. The case then went to Conway City Attorney Chuck Clawson, who prosecutes misdemeanors. Clawson requested a special prosecutor, and Prosecuting Attorney Tom Tatum of Danville was appointed to that position.
Tatum said Thursday that he has been reviewing records to determine whether misdemeanor charges should be filed against any deputies who participated in the arrests. Tatum said he has read the reports and viewed the videotape of Martin's arrest.
Tatum said he wants to meet with investigators before making a decision. He said any charges he might file would be limited to misdemeanors because he is in effect replacing Clawson as city attorney in this case. Tatum also noted that the extent, or level, of state charges depends on the severity of the injuries.
Shock has said he first saw the video a day or two after the arrests. He said at the time that he began putting some deputies on leave later, after he received more information.
Details of exactly when the officers were put on leave were unclear. County Attorney David Hogue and he and Sheriff Rice weren't sure of the dates.
Shock did not want to discuss the situation further Thursday now that he is no longer the sheriff, but in a text message he said, "I wouldn't change anything we did."
Mayflower Police Chief Robert Alcon, a retired state police trooper, said Thursday that he saw the video a day or two after he returned from the weekend off. The arrests happened on a Monday, minutes after midnight.
Alcon said "it looked pretty serious to me" and that he contacted the sheriff's office, which sent a deputy to get the tape.
"I know most of these guys [the deputies], and I've never known them to be out of control," Alcon said. "I just feel like sometimes the adrenaline gets the best of them."
Alcon said there is no doubt Elliott has been under pressure because of the videotape but that he believed Elliott had followed proper procedures.
"Anytime you have contact with the public ," the body camera should be running, "and the truth comes out," Alcon said. "I hate it for him because he's also a former deputy."
A Section on 01/22/2016