Little Rock, North Little Rock police prepare for weekend of fireworks, gunshots

Use 911 alternatives to report them, say officers in LR, NLR

Willie Tillman shops for fireworks at the Fireworks City tent on Arkansas 161 near North Little Rock on Friday. Fireworks City is open 8 a.m.- 8 p.m. through Monday.
(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)
Willie Tillman shops for fireworks at the Fireworks City tent on Arkansas 161 near North Little Rock on Friday. Fireworks City is open 8 a.m.- 8 p.m. through Monday. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Thomas Metthe)


Police in Little Rock and North Little Rock are preparing for a holiday weekend of responding to reports of illegal fireworks and so-called celebratory gunfire, with both departments asking citizens to report fireworks through non-emergency lines.

More patrols will be going out on both sides of the river this weekend, so officers will be able to spot and intervene more quickly, spokespeople from each department said.

Little Rock police set up an email address -- LRPDFireworksViolations@littlerock.gov -- specifically for fielding reports of fireworks, spokesman Sgt. Eric Barnes said. The idea is that this will free up police dispatchers to direct officers to reports of gunshots and more pressing emergencies.

An emergency communications official will review the email reports and assign them to an officer, but citizens should not expect direct contact from that officer, according to a news release from the city, which did not specify a time frame for that response.

The email address was activated Friday at 3 p.m. and is set to remain active until 1 a.m. Tuesday, the release states.

"We want them to use the email address, and that's solely not to inundate the lines," Barnes said.

In North Little Rock, police want people reporting illegal fireworks to call the non-emergency dispatch number, 501-758-1234, spokeswoman Sgt. Carmen Helton said.

"You can only imagine how many phone calls we get," Helton said.

Police want citizens that report fireworks use to be as specific as possible to help officers actually find and stop the illegal activity, Helton said.

Fireworks are outlawed in both cities, with exceptions for special events.

In both cities, police will confiscate fireworks from anyone found with them inside city limits and then take them to a fire station for safe destruction. A citation may be issued.

Barnes said police know full well that with tents selling firecrackers just outside city limits during this time of year, some of the pyrotechnics will get back into the city.

Still, they want to try to limit illegal usage.

"Let the professionals use the fireworks, because we don't want injuries or property damage," Barnes said.

When it comes to so-called celebratory gunfire, or people shooting indiscriminately into the air, police want to be able to respond to those incidents quickly because of the safety issue.

"Once a bullet comes up, it's gonna have to come back down," Helton said.

This gunfire is more common on New Years Eve, but still a serious concern for police on Independence Day, Helton said.

In Little Rock, where the Police Department uses ShotSpotter technology to detect and analyze suspected gunshots, holidays like the Fourth of July keep the software's team busy.

ShotSpotter is still active on these nights, but the analysts who are trained to tell gunfire apart from fireworks or other noises before sending the reports on to police dispatch have to be more discerning, Barnes said.

Most of the time, especially on the weekend of Independence Day, it's just fireworks, not gunfire, Barnes said.

However, investigating this random gunfire and issuing someone a citation can be tricky, Barnes said. Unless a police officer witnesses the shots, they aren't able to enter a residence, meaning they may not be able to speak with the person suspected of doing the shooting.

That's a good reason to increase patrols like the departments are doing this weekend, Helton said, as more officers may be able to catch someone in the act.

It's different if someone is shooting from a vehicle, however, even if they're just firing into the air, Barnes said. Firing from a vehicle is a felony, and police will do what they can to arrest that person.

Barnes encouraged those celebrating the holiday to do so safely, without shooting unsafely into the night.

"Be a good neighbor, and let's not do this type of thing," Barnes said.


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