Little Rock officer was suspended when he picked up teen girl, let her sleep at his residence, records show

Police records show that a Little Rock police officer was on suspension when he picked up a teenage girl at a bus stop and let her sleep at his residence, an incident that has now sparked an internal investigation.

Officer Jason Butler, 29, is currently on paid administrative leave, and an internal investigation is ongoing into the April 14 incident involving the 16-year-old girl picked up from a Little Rock bus stop, according to department spokesman Lt. Michael Ford.

Butler, according to a report, said he saw the teenager standing at a bus stop around 3 a.m. and stopped to check on her because it was raining and he had received storm notifications on his phone.

The teenager reported being kicked out of her house, Butler told authorities. Butler said he offered her a ride and took her back to his residence, where she slept before the officer took her home.

At the time, Butler was suspended from the department because of a November incident in which he returned to the scene of a domestic disturbance to try to develop a personal relationship with a victim, according to police documents.

Butler said he found the woman attractive and returned to her apartment to "conversate" with her, according to an internal investigation into the incident. One Little Rock police captain wrote that Butler's behavior was "indicative of a predatory nature that cannot be tolerated."

Police Chief Kenton Buckner wrote that he would not call the actions predatory, but he described the behavior as "inappropriate," according to the documents. Butler received a 160-hour suspension, according to a department letter from Buckner.

In 2015, Butler received a one-day suspension from the department after he was dispatched to a call, asked an "unsuitable question" to a woman and later sent text messages to her cellphone.

Metro on 05/17/2018

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