FORT SMITH -- Nathaniel Clark called his first day as the city's police chief intriguing.
After being sworn in Monday morning by Fort Smith District Judge Claire Borengasser, Clark said he spent the day meeting with his staff and city officials and with as many people in the community as possible.
Mayor Sandy Sanders introduced Clark, the city's first black police chief, during the city directors' study session Tuesday and he drew applause from the crowd.
In the coming days, Clark said he will look at the department's policies, inspect the department's equipment to make sure it's up to date and get to know his employees.
Clark said it has been his custom to try to foster good relations with the public and that he wants to build a "strong and lasting" relationship with the community.
"I tell everybody as public servants, we should try to make deposits in the community bank every day," he said.
Those deposits consist of transparency, bridge building, treating individuals as equal partners and being open-minded, he said.
And when situations occur, he said, he believes the trust the department has built within the community will encourage residents to withhold judgment on the police until all the facts are in.
Although Borengasser swore in Clark on Monday, Sanders said a public swearing-in and reception for Clark have been scheduled for 4-6 p.m. Jan. 26 in the North Rotunda of the Fort Smith Convention Center.
Clark moved to Fort Smith from Albany, Ga., where he had retired in March as deputy chief for the Police Department's investigations bureau. He served in the Albany Police Department since 2009, according to his resume.
Before that, he worked for the U.S. Treasury Department from 2003 to 2008.
Clark also served with the Pine Bluff Police Department from 1982 to 2002 and as police chief from 2000 to 2002.
He was fired as chief by the Pine Bluff Civil Service Commission on allegations of sexual misconduct with a female police officer.
Clark sued the city of Pine Bluff, the Civil Service Commission, the mayor and others in federal court, claiming racial discrimination. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2005. The settlement nullified the commission's firing of Clark, and he received $62,500.
The judgment left him free to apply for the chief's job again. He was among 12 applicants for the job but was not chosen as a finalist.
Clark succeeds Kevin Lindsey, who served as Fort Smith's police chief from January 2007 to March 2016. He resigned after making a racially offensive comment during a meeting that a city employee overheard and reported to her supervisor. The supervisor reported it to then-acting City Administrator Jeff Dingman.
State Desk on 01/13/2017