The city of Little Rock on Tuesday appealed the Civil Service Commission's decision to overturn a police officer's discipline last month, according to court filings.
On Dec. 20, the Civil Service Commission voted unanimously to overturn Sgt. Derrick Threadgill's 30-day suspension in 2017, saying that the city didn't prove the officer had neglected his duty.
On Tuesday, the deadline for appeals to be submitted in the case, the city filed a notice of appeal with the Pulaski County Circuit Court and requested that the commission file a written order detailing its decision to reverse the discipline.
City Attorney Tom Carpenter, whose office will represent the Civil Service Commission, said it is not common for the city to appeal such a decision.
After last month's commission meeting, Carpenter said, then-interim Police Chief Hayward Finks, the attorney representing the Police Department and representatives of the city attorney's office gathered to discuss the ruling and review transcripts of the hearings.
The department felt strongly that the city should appeal the ruling, Carpenter said, and the other city representatives agreed.
"The officer did not do something that should have been done," Carpenter said. "We don't know why the commission made that decision. The evidence is pretty clear that he had failed to deal with a domestic violence situation correctly. ... We really can't afford to have that kind of thing done."
Ellen Owens Smith, the attorney representing the Police Department, did not return phone calls Wednesday.
Threadgill had been suspended after a Dec. 22, 2016, domestic violence incident in which police supervisors said the officer should have arrested the assailant on more serious charges and accused Threadgill of neglecting his duty.
"One thing about it, it was a unanimous decision by the commission," said Lucien Gillham, the attorney representing Threadgill. "They said in that decision that they felt like it was unclear what an officer's responsibilities were in that situation and that was the reason for their decision. It's kind of disappointing that Little Rock would appeal."
City Manager Bruce Moore said he normally joins the group discussing whether the city will appeal similar rulings but that he was not aware of this filing.
"I've expressed my disappointment with the city attorney that I had not been included in that discussion," Moore said.
Carpenter said Moore had not been listed on the meeting's invite list by mistake.
When the Civil Service Commission ruled that the department did not prove neglect, Commissioner James Hudson also pointed out that there was an apparent confusion in how the department's general order for domestic violence should be interpreted.
"I really would encourage the department to look at that, make sure that there is clear understanding about that," Hudson said during the meeting. "If there is not clear understanding about that, to correct that."
On Dec. 22, 2016, a woman's intoxicated ex-husband threatened her with a gun and assaulted her, according to testimony from the hearing. Officers found no evidence of physical harm and no witnesses to corroborate the woman's testimony. The man -- who was in the woman's yard when officers arrived -- had a gun in his pocket, officers testified.
Threadgill -- who was the senior sergeant -- instructed the responding officers to arrest the man on charges of public intoxication and an existing warrant, which Threadgill said would remove the man from the scene and eliminate the danger to the victim.
Supervisors -- including former Police Chief Kenton Buckner -- argued that the man should have been arrested on charges of aggravated assault. Threadgill said because officers found no evidence of harm and the man was too intoxicated to be interviewed, there was not enough probable cause to immediately charge him with aggravated assault.
This -- whether Threadgill charged the man appropriately -- was the crux of the issue. Threadgill said his actions were supported by the department's general orders; department seniors said they were not.
The commissioners listened to testimony from multiple officers for more than eight hours over two sessions in October and December before ultimately deciding the city could not prove Threadgill had neglected his duty.
Metro on 01/24/2019