With the Police Department in turmoil over the leadership of Chief Keith Humphrey, Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. has avoided public commentary on what top police officials have described as a dysfunctional department incapable of adequately protecting and serving residents.
This year, two assistant police chiefs, as well as several other police officials, have filed lawsuits targeting the chief, claiming that he retaliated against them. Humphrey recently hit back at his opponents with a lawsuit in federal court that alleges a conspiracy to oust him.
In September, seven of the department's 10 police captains and all three assistant chiefs signed a plea to the mayor and city directors urging them to take immediate action. In the letter, they called Humphrey "a catastrophic problem."
They accused the chief of creating an explosive and hostile work environment, leading to "a very dysfunctional police department, which we feel has resulted in putting the safety and welfare of the citizens served by the Little Rock Police Department at risk."
Through his spokeswoman Stephanie Jackson, the mayor declined requests from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for an interview on the internal police strife. Scott also declined to answer written questions about the police chief's leadership, according to Jackson.
In an interview last month, Jackson said Scott has made it clear that "he's not going to comment on the legal matter, or make any comments that could be used in legal proceedings."
Jackson added that Scott is not going to comment on "personnel matters." She acknowledged that from the media's perspective it might seem like the mayor has chosen not to comment on something "of great public importance."
"But from a leadership perspective of the city," she said, "there are just some things he cannot comment on, and this happens to be one of them."
When pressed on the mayor's rationale, Jackson said Scott has not used the litigation against the chief as a shield to avoid discussion of the situation within the Police Department.
"This is not something that Mayor Scott, with his administration, started," Jackson said. "The city has a longstanding practice of not commenting on issues dealing with pending litigation. This is not something new for the City of Little Rock."
Jackson later provided a statement from Scott -- one the mayor originally issued in September when Humphrey filed his countersuit.
"Our administration has devoted much time and attention to the public safety of Little Rock residents," Scott said in the statement. "It is the top priority. ... There will be no comment on litigation, new or ongoing, nor personnel matters."
STARKS CASE
The claims of retaliation facing the police chief date to the February 2019 police shooting of Bradley Blackshire, a Black driver who was shot and killed by then-officer Charles Starks.
Humphrey fired Starks, but Starks was reinstated to his job by a judge.
Assistant Chief Hayward Finks later testified to the city's Civil Service Commission during Starks' appeal that the investigation into the shooting was rushed because of pressure from the mayor. Then-Assistant Chief Alice Fulk -- who is now chief of Arkansas State Capitol Police -- told the commission that Scott had asked on the day of the shooting if Starks could be fired immediately.
Scott's spokeswoman denied that the mayor had influence over the decision at the time of Starks' firing.
Finks and Fulk have separately sued Humphrey, claiming that he retaliated against them and their allies in the Police Department because of their testimonies.
After members of the command staff issued their letter to city leaders blasting Humphrey's leadership, City Director Lance Hines of Ward 5 asked Scott to remove the chief at a Board of Directors meeting the same day.
"Thank you, Director Hines. I respectfully decline," Scott replied.
The mayor -- who previously has used the acronym A.C.T., which stands for accountability, clarity and transparency, to describe how he will govern -- did not address the matter further, and refused to answer questions on the subject from a reporter after the meeting.
In an interview Oct. 22, Hines said he feels "this has lingered on too long," before adding, "and I think the mayor's using the lawsuits as an excuse not to act."
At some point, Hines predicted, the city will face a lawsuit from Humphrey.
"I doubt that the mayor's gonna talk about it, because he's hiding behind the shield while there's lawsuits involved, but at the end of the day, you've got a largest police department in the state -- in my opinion one of the best -- that's been totally disrupted and dysfunctional because of this police chief and the mayor's actions, period," Hines said.
Hines, who has been critical of Humphrey, called the firing of Starks the "root cause" of the ongoing strife.
Starks announced his resignation from the Police Department last month, claiming the chief had made his working conditions "intolerable."
SILENCE URGED
Correspondence records obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette show that Little Rock City Attorney Tom Carpenter counseled the mayor and members of the Little Rock Board of Directors against commenting on the lawsuits involving the Police Department.
In a May 14 email to the city's elected officials that included Humphrey, City Manager Bruce Moore and others, Carpenter wrote that the city had received three lawsuits involving the Police Department.
"I suspect it is simply a matter of time before local TV stations, or news outlets, will start to address the issue. Of course, this puts tremendous pressure on elected officials to comment. Please don't," Carpenter wrote.
He continued, "There are numerous reasons that I make this statement. The most important is that personnel issues are not something the City should discuss in public, and are definitely not something that elected officials should discuss. I have often counseled against such activity."
Although he acknowledged the difficulty elected officials may experience when constituents ask for input, Carpenter said no discovery or analysis of the allegations in the lawsuits had been completed.
"Further, and perhaps most important, once this door is opened it will be extremely hard to close it," Carpenter wrote. "So, while a particular situation may seem to justify or warrant public responses, in the future that could easily not be the case, yet the refusal to do so will be difficult to understand."
If officials had already issued comments, Carpenter wrote, "then my suggestion is not to make any more public comments."
Carpenter did not respond to an email asking for comment on the message to elected officials.
GROUPS AT ODDS
While a large majority of the Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police members approved a no-confidence vote against the chief over the summer, another group, the Black Police Officers Association, has expressed support for Humphrey.
A spokesman for the Black Police Officers Association, Lt. J.C. White, said the organization's membership has not had an in-depth conversation about the mayor.
In an interview last month, White reiterated the association's support for Humphrey.
"But we really haven't said anything or really asked for support from the mayor in regards to the chief," White said. "We hope that that's the case."
He added that the association's members "want the chief to have a fair day in court."
The Black Police Officers Association's president and vice president spoke with Scott in recent weeks, according to White, but he could not say with certainty what the conversation was about.
The discussion took place sometime a couple of weeks earlier and might have pertained to the stance of the group, according to White. Members wanted the mayor to know they supported the chief, he said.
Little Rock's mayor is the chief executive officer of the city, but the government structure also provides for a city manager to serve as chief administrative officer.
Shortly after his swearing-in, Scott announced his intention to use his executive authority to hire department heads, including the police chief, a power which had been delegated to the city manager under the previous mayor, Mark Stodola.
The mayor ultimately tapped Humphrey for the job from his previous role as police chief of Norman, Okla., beating out Finks and Fulk, who were finalists for the position.
This spring, as the lawsuits and allegations began to swirl around Humphrey, Scott announced May 19 the creation of an independent board to conduct a wide-ranging review of the Police Department, saying the review was not aimed at a single individual.
On Sept. 30, Humphrey filed a countersuit against police officials, leaders of the Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police and others, alleging that they conspired against him to force him out of the job.
Humphrey and his attorney, Michael Laux, during a news conference suggested that the chief's insistence on departmental changes led to a backlash from the union.
At the news conference, Humphrey said he had not spoken to the mayor before filing his lawsuit.
"No parts of the city was involved in this or in this discussion," Humphrey said.
In a segment that aired last week, Scott sat for an interview with local television station THV-11 in which he discussed his nearly two years in the mayor's office.
The segment mentioned recent initiatives to equip Little Rock police with body-worn cameras and the creation of a citizens review board. Scott told his interviewer, Marlisa Goldsmith, that overall crime in the city was down despite social unrest nationwide.
The mayor credited "the men and women of the Little Rock Police Department, our community leaders and the willingness from our administration to listen to those who may see areas of opportunity and to find solutions."