State Rep. Walker: Responsibility for his arrest 'begins at the top'

In this photo taken  March 25, 2015, Rep. John Walker, D-Little Rock, speaks during a meeting of the House State Agencies Committee at the Arkansas state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark.
In this photo taken March 25, 2015, Rep. John Walker, D-Little Rock, speaks during a meeting of the House State Agencies Committee at the Arkansas state Capitol in Little Rock, Ark.

6 P.M. UPDATE:

Arkansas Rep. John Walker said Thursday afternoon that there should be consequences for those responsible for what he said is a system of racial injustice that led to his and colleague Omar Kushukuru’s arrests.

Walker, a 79-year-old Democrat from Little Rock, praised a decision made earlier in the day to drop a charge of obstructing governmental operations against 29-year-old Kushukuru but said neither of them should have been arrested.

“This begins at the top,” he told reporters during a news conference at his law office, adding that Little Rock Police Chief Kenton Buckner and City Manager Bruce Moore bear part of the responsibility.

“Are you a trouble maker when you ask that the law enforcement officers of our city obey the law themselves — and enforce it fairly and uniformly without discrimination?” Walker asked.

Walker said that some black people in positions of power, like Buckner and Moore, “act like white people,” allowing them to “mistreat the people at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder.”

Legal action has not been pursued against the Little Rock Police Department, Walker said, adding that his focus at this point is policy review and the end of certain practices he said encourage racial disparities.

“We haven’t crossed that bridge yet,” he said.

Kushukuru said that if the police department is serious about addressing bias and racism, it must “start tracking the racial demographics and the gender of the people that they stop, that they detain, that they do not arrest.”

Read Friday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

EARLIER STORY:

A misdemeanor charge of obstructing governmental operations has been dropped for a second attorney arrested after a Little Rock traffic stop this week.

The Pulaski County prosecuting attorney’s office will not prosecute state Rep. John Walker or fellow attorney Omavi Kushukuru, according to a notice filed in Little Rock District Court Thursday.

Walker, a 79-year-old Democrat from Little Rock, was arrested Monday while filming a traffic stop involving two black men at Commerce and East Ninth streets near the Arkansas Arts Center.

His colleague, 29-year-old Kushukuru, was arrested after walking too close to the scene, police said. He was set to appear in court Monday for a first appearance.

Each initially faced a misdemeanor charge of obstructing governmental operations. Those counts had been nolle prossed, or dismissed, as of Thursday morning, records show.

Little Rock Police Chief Kenton Buckner on Tuesday announced that his agency would drop the count against Walker, adding that the charge against Kushukuru would remain.

On Tuesday, Buckner also sent Walker an apology after his arrest, telling the legislator that police did not have just cause to arrest him and that the case would be reviewed for training purposes.

[APOLOGY LETTER: Little Rock Police Chief Kenton Buckner apologizes to state Rep. John Walker over arrest]

Walker rebuked that letter, stating in a response that the department's actions have a "grave negative impact on the Little Rock black community's relationship with the LRPD."

[DOCUMENT: Read Walker's response to Little Rock police's apology]

The Little Rock Police Department on Wednesday released dashboard-camera video from the traffic stop. That footage provided new information about the dispute that led officers to arrest Walker and Kushukuru, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.

Walker and Rep. Richard Womack, R-Arkadelphia, co-sponsored a bill intended to protect the rights of Arkansas residents to film or photograph in public places. It became a law last year.

Information for this article was contributed by Scott Carroll of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

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