Third lawsuit accuses Little Rock police chief of retaliatory action

 Little Rock Police Chief Keith Humphrey is shown speaking during a press conference in this file photo.
Little Rock Police Chief Keith Humphrey is shown speaking during a press conference in this file photo.

A senior Little Rock police officer filed suit against Police Chief Keith Humphrey on Thursday, the third officer to do so in the past five weeks.

Capt. Marcus Paxton, one of the department's 10 captains who serve as division supervisors, accuses the chief of dealing him a career-wounding job transfer solely out of spite because Humphrey did not like the testimony of a Paxton subordinate about the internal investigation into last year's police killing of a car-theft suspect.

The 52-year-old Paxton, a 28-year department veteran, joins assistant chiefs Hayward Finks and Alice Fulk in filing lawsuits against Humphrey, accusing him of retaliation, saying he has treated them unfairly since a Civil Service hearing over Humphrey's decision to fire a police officer over the killing.

There was police testimony at the proceeding that an internal investigation into the death of 30-year-old Bradley Blackshire was rushed and incomplete because of pressure from Mayor Frank Scott Jr. The senior officers say the testimony embarrassed and upset Humphrey and he's since been taking that anger out on them.

Blackshire, driving a stolen car, was killed in a February 2019 confrontation with officer Charles Starks. Prosecutors cleared Starks of criminal wrongdoing, but Humphrey fired Starks for breaking police procedure over how suspects in moving cars should be approached.

Starks' firing was overturned on appeal, and the department was court-ordered to take him back. Starks is now suing the mayor and the chief over the way his reinstatement has been handled.

Paxton's suit before Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen claims Humphrey's actions against him violate the Arkansas Whistle-Blower Act and the state Civil Rights Act. He's asking punitive and compensatory damages.

The city has yet to respond to any of the litigation involving reprisal claims against the chief because it has no legal representation and will have to hire lawyers.

Ethical conflicts prevent City Attorney Tom Carpenter from handling the cases because he and his staff have to work closely with both sides in the daily course of city operations.

But in a May 20 email to the mayor and the city Board of Directors, Carpenter said the city will present a vastly different view of the accusations when it is finally able to respond.

"I know there are numerous issues that have been publicly discussed in colorful, even journalistic, pleading language," Carpenter wrote. "From what I have seen so far, the pleadings and statements against Chief Humphrey are convenient, but inconsistent, with the relevant facts. It is also likely that certain claims will be seen in a much different light once certain facts come to light."

Like Finks and Fulk, Paxton is being represented by the WH Law firm attorneys Degen Clow and Chris Burks.

But where Finks and Fulk say in their suits that Humphrey has gone after them for what they told Civil Service commissioners, Paxton says Humphrey is punishing him for the testimony of Tory Trammell, a training division sergeant who testified that Starks' rights were violated by the rushed investigation and that Starks did not violate police procedure in the fatal shooting.

Trammell is not a party to the Paxton suit, but what she said under oath "contradicted Chief Humphrey and cast his leadership in a bad light," the suit states.

The lawsuit describes a meeting between Trammel and Humphrey during which she told him "what she thought was the appropriate and lawful policies and testimony, and how retaliation was inappropriate and should not happen. In this meeting with Humphrey in his office, Humphrey advised her that he would not move her. Instead, he moved Paxton," the suit said.

About three weeks after the Civil Service hearing, Humphrey transferred Paxton from running the training division to overseeing the communications division, which primarily handles 911 calls.

According to the lawsuit, the move put Paxton in a role that is more suitable for a civilian and does not allow for the career-enhancing training he had received in his previous job, which hurts his chances to earn a new job or promotion.

Again, like Finks and Fulk, Paxton says in the lawsuit that Humphrey has been rude and unprofessional. Paxton says he has been asked why the chief "hates" him, according to the suit.

"Rather than let Paxton's transfer be enough -- Humphrey has progressively gotten worse. Humphrey continues to treat Paxton worse than others, including ignoring his communications and demeaning him in front of others," the suit states. "In sum, Humphrey's retaliatory transfer was a direct and proximate result of the testimony given by Trammel, which included statements about the Training Division under Paxton, at the Starks hearing."

Metro on 05/29/2020

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