A Pulaski County judge on Thursday ordered that Jacksonville Police Chief Geoffrey Herweg be removed from his post pending the outcome of a trial. City officials said they'll appeal the decision to the Arkansas Supreme Court.
The ruling came after arguments earlier this month before Judge Alice Gray in Pulaski County Circuit Court on a lawsuit filed in April by Jacksonville Alderman Tara Smith.
Herweg can still work for the city, just not as chief, Gray told City Attorney Robert Bamburg, Mayor Gary Fletcher and City Clerk Susan Davitt at the Thursday hearing. He also cannot be paid his $81,000 salary, Gray said.
Smith contended that the police chief was legally disqualified from holding the post because of a previous misdemeanor conviction.
Records show Herweg pleaded guilty in 2002 to misdemeanor counts of failure to report an accident and filing a false report to a police officer in Williamson County, Texas.
An affidavit states that Herweg crashed into a house on Christmas Eve in 2000, abandoned the vehicle and later lied about the wreck to authorities. He was a law enforcement officer at the time.
A condition of his guilty plea was that he permanently surrender his police officer license in Texas. He went on to work as a deputy sheriff in New Mexico and was hired for the Jacksonville job by the mayor in April.
The judge said her order will stand at least until she can hold a trial, as yet unscheduled, on the merits of the lawsuit that challenges Herweg's eligibility for the job. She said she would consider staying her order pending the outcome of an appeal but said the request must be made in writing.
Read Friday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.