CONWAY -- The secretary of state's office referred voter intimidation complaints against Faulkner County sheriff candidate Rocky Lawrence to the prosecutor's office for investigation Friday.
Lawrence, a Mayflower police officer, and Tim Ryals, a retired state police trooper, are in a runoff for the Republican nomination for sheriff. The winner of Tuesday's election will face Democrat Wefus Tyus Jr. in November.
Also Friday, Lawrence described as "totally inappropriate" postings on the Facebook page of a former law enforcement officer whom Lawrence has said will head the sheriff's Criminal Investigative Division if Lawrence is elected.
Among the many postings shared on the Facebook page of retired Conway police officer T.C. McDermott is a picture of an ape, resembling one from the Planet of the Apes movies, with the words: "Seriously ... Stop saying I look like Michelle Obama."
Another is a picture of a sign saying, "#HillaryIsACommieWhore," while another shows a dog defecating on a picture of Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton. Still another posting depicts President Barack Obama as the devil while a cartoon shows people and a dog regurgitating as it says President Obama is at the microphone.
As of Friday afternoon, anyone -- not just McDermott's Facebook "friends" -- could see the postings on his Facebook page.
Lawrence said he had not seen the postings but said McDermott and two other people he hopes to hire "have outstanding backgrounds" in law enforcement.
Lawrence said everyone deserves due process and a thorough vetting but that "anyone with these views would not be a candidate for employment with my administration."
McDermott could not be reached for comment Friday. There is no listing for him in Conway directory assistance, and he did not immediately reply to a message sent to him through Facebook.
Secretary of state spokesman Chris Powell emailed a copy of the cover letter regarding the voter-intimidation allegations to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Powell said he could not share the actual complaints with the newspaper because of the ongoing investigation.
The letter, dated Thursday and addressed to Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland, refers to a plurality of complaints but does not say how many. Powell said he believed there were two.
Hiland said his office also could not release the complaints to the newspaper.
Lawrence, told of the complaints, said in a text message that he had "no idea" who filed them but later sent another text message calling it "a bogus complaint" and blaming Ryals' campaign.
The letter said the secretary of state's office received the reports Thursday.
"The complaints allege that Mr. Lawrence engaged in intimidation of a voter in violation of" Arkansas Code Annotated 7-1-104(5), said the letter signed by Rob Hammons, director of elections for the secretary of state's office.
"The Secretary of State is forwarding the complaints to your office for further review and investigation due to the nature of the allegations and your authority to investigate the matter," Hammons wrote.
Asked if the state routinely refers such complaints to prosecutors, Powell said in an email it depends on the complaint and on the circumstances.
"If we receive a complaint directly, we assess the issue and refer [it] to whatever authority we deem appropriate (i.e., county election commission, State Board of Election Commissioners, prosecutor, Ethics Commission, etc.)," he said.
Among other campaign issues:
• Ryals and Lawrence agreed that deputies should be provided body cameras to wear as soon as possible.
"Body cameras are number one on my agenda," Lawrence said.
Ryals said if deputies "are doing their jobs and performing in the manner and ways they should be performing, not one of those deputies would have any issue with wearing body cameras."
• Lawrence said he intends to "change the culture" of the sheriff's office and referred, in part, to an FBI investigation aimed at determining whether excessive force was involved in the arrests of two men after a high-speed chase in May.
Changes Lawrence has cited would include hiring Joe Taylor as chief deputy. Taylor is a former Conway police officer who lost to Lawrence and Ryals in the Republican primary for sheriff earlier this month.
• Ryals said he wants to "intensify" training to prevent such problems in the future and said it is correct that "there are some things that need changed or some issues that need to be addressed" in the sheriff's office.
Ryals said he is hopeful he can address the problems without costing any deputies their jobs. He would hire the current sheriff, Matt Rice, as chief deputy, the job Rice held until he was appointed to the sheriff's job last summer when Andy Shock resigned to take a job on the state Parole Board.
State Desk on 03/19/2016