The Newport police lieutenant who was fatally shot in the line of duty Monday evening had a wide smile, a calm nature and loved to sing while on patrol, according to the officer who trained him.
Lt. Patrick Weatherford, 41, was fatally shot while helping other law enforcement officers investigate a vehicle break-in around 6 p.m. An 18-year-old suspect is now in custody, though no charges have been filed as of 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Bridget Hendrix, a former Newport Police Department officer, spoke about Weatherford, who was her “rookie,” at the old Jackson County jail about midday Tuesday. The building is being renovated to house the White River Women's Center, of which Hendrix is the executive director.
Hendrix has known Weatherford since he was in diapers, she said. She's eight or nine years his senior, and a ditch separated their backyards while growing up. Hendrix said she remembers watching Weatherford's mother hold the hand of her “handsome little boy” and walk him up and down the street.
At 26 years old, Weatherford was working at Price Chopper in Newport until the local police chief finally convinced him in 2002 to join the department, Hendrix said. She said the chief had been after Weatherford for a couple years because he was an ideal candidate.
“[Weatherford] was not fast to judge. He always kept a calm spirit about him,” Hendrix said.
Hendrix was the officer assigned to train the future lieutenant when he first got to the department, she said. Together, they cruised down residential streets, belted a song from the Captain Kangaroo movie into each other's thumbs — makeshift microphones — and tapped along to the beat on their ammo pouches, she said.
Hendrix smiled when she remembered Weatherford's smile, which she said took up his entire face.
“He laughed at everything. He laughed at nothing,” she said.
Once, when they were working a car accident, Hendrix told Weatherford to bring the patrol car around to where she was. But they had just purchased two Route 44 drinks from Sonic which were perched on the consul. When Weatherford pulled the car around, he accidentally spilled one of the drinks all over Hendrix's seat.
Hendrix said when he got out of the unit, he could not stop snickering. She remembers thinking, “What's he done now?” When she saw the mess, Hendrix said, she made Weatherford hover over the soggy cushion all the way back to the station.
Weatherford quickly moved quickly up the ranks to Criminal Investigations at the Newport department. When Hendrix left her post in 2003, she took the head from the Newport police's “Just Say No to Drugs” pug mascot, stuck it on a traffic cone and locked it inside Weatherford's car. It was a “farewell present,” she said.
Over the years she maintained a relationship with her former “rookie,” whom she teasingly dubbed “Patty Patty.” The nickname stuck even after she left, she said. Hendrix said she occasionally worried about Weatherford because he had a habit of not wearing a protective vest under his uniform since he worked behind a desk.
Hendrix eventually became the executive director of the women's shelter in early 2016 and asked Weatherford to be on the board of directors. He declined, only because he was so busy helping everybody else in the community, Hendrix said.
“Patrick couldn't catch a break. Every time he turned around, someone was bringing their loved ones or people with issues to Patrick. And he would stop what he was doing, and he listened,” Hendrix said.
When Hendrix first heard of the fatal shooting, she was pushing her nephew in a stroller near Remmel Park. A law enforcement acquaintance approached her and asked if she'd seen a person with his shirt off because he was suspected of shooting a police officer nearby.
“At that point I had no idea who it was,” Hendrix said. “And it didn't really matter. Blue is blue.”
About 15 minutes later, she learned it was Weatherford. Hendrix said she immediately went to the hospital along with a growing crowd of family, friends and law enforcement officials from all over the state who gathered to mourn.
Hendrix said she “shut herself away” for a few hours. Then, she started recounting memories of her time with Weatherford on Facebook Live videos, one of which gathered more than 1,800 views.
“He was loved by all,” Hendrix said. “There was not an enemy here in this town. And the yahoo that took his life without regard obviously didn't know the heart of the man behind that badge.”
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.