After criticism circulated, a Little Rock police union has removed a Facebook post that supported one of the city's mayoral candidates by denouncing another's association with a man who fled law enforcement officers.
On Wednesday, the Facebook page for the Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police showed a photo of mayoral candidate Frank Scott Jr. speaking with Roderick Talley.
Talley has a lawsuit against the Little Rock Police Department. Earlier that day, he had run out of a courthouse in Wynne in east Arkansas and hit a deputy with a vehicle while fleeing, according to the Cross County sheriff's office.
"Tell the guy on the left to help us find the guy on the right who's publicly supporting his campaign," the union's post read. "The Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police want the citizens of Little Rock to know that candidates who align themselves with fleeing felons fail the qualifications for any public office."
The post, which had received nearly 250 comments and had been shared almost 400 times as of Thursday night, went on to express support for Scott's mayoral opponent, Baker Kurrus. The two are in a runoff election Dec. 4, with early voting beginning Nov. 27. Kurrus issued a statement shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday asking for the post to be taken down, and it was removed later that night.
John Gilchrist, president of the Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police, said Friday that he felt it was proper to take down the post, saying it was divisive and had racial undertones. Gilchrist said that was not the intent, but he was not apologizing for the content.
He said he believes Scott had aligned himself with Talley, who Gilchrist said has been antagonistic toward law enforcement, at times outing undercover officers on social media.
Scott answered the organization's post with one of his own Thursday, saying it represented "divisive smear tactics." He has publicly expressed support for Talley as a victim of the Little Rock Police Department's "no-knock" warrants, but said he did not know about Talley's past.
Talley's lawsuit against the department states that he was injured during a raid based on incorrect information provided to officers. The department got national attention in October when a Washington Post opinion piece highlighted its practices.
Metro on 11/18/2018