Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. in a news release Monday announced that no disciplinary action will be taken against Police Chief Keith Humphrey after complaints from within the Police Department that triggered a human-resources investigation conducted by a university official.
The mayor said the decision was reached upon careful review and the advice of the city attorney.
Scott's announcement came a day after the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that City Manager Bruce Moore had provided the mayor with a report by Arkansas Tech University official Loretta Cochran for Scott to make a final determination on discipline.
In a statement included with the news release, Scott said that on Sept. 24, he received the summary report from Moore, "whose thoughtful and deliberate review came after a several months-long investigation by Dr. Loretta Cochran."
He added, "While it is neither customary nor advised to comment on an employee's personnel record, we will make an exception to conclude this investigation and move forward with the necessary steps to ultimately improve public safety for Little Rock residents."
Moore did not return a voicemail Monday evening inquiring as to whether he provided Scott with a recommendation that differed from the mayor's decision.
In his statement, Scott seemed to suggest that Cochran's work had been tainted by bias, but he did not provide further details.
"It is imperative that we avoid any appearance of impropriety or bias in employee investigations, and the investigator's affiliations and donation to a complainant's GoFundMe raised serious concerns about the legitimacy of her investigation," Scott said. "Further, the report offered many conclusory statements without actual findings of fact, while misstating or misinterpreting the relevant legal standards, and the evidence provided does not support the complaints filed."
The mayor's decision in favor of no discipline all but ensures that Cochran's findings will not be made public by the city. A decision to suspend or terminate Humphrey after the investigation would have made the records disclosable in response to an Arkansas Freedom of Information Act request.
Scott's chief spokeswoman, Stephanie Jackson, as well as city officials Spencer Watson and Kendra Pruitt did not respond to questions via email Monday evening.
Soon after his inauguration in 2019, Scott appointed Humphrey as the new police chief. Humphrey previously led the Police Department of Norman, Okla.
The chief's 2½-year tenure has been dominated by the fallout from a 2019 police shooting as well as a legal clash in which Humphrey claimed that members of the Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police, among others, meant to force him out with accusations and lawsuits.
Last year also saw 10 members of the Police Department's command staff sign a letter to Little Rock elected officials in which they warned that Humphrey's leadership had created internal dysfunction and toxicity.
The developments have played out as violent crime in Little Rock has risen, as it has in other jurisdictions nationwide.
According to her resume, Cochran received a doctorate from Clemson University, where she studied industrial management and statistics. The Arkansas Tech University website lists her as an associate professor in the Department of Management and Marketing.
The city hired Cochran in July 2020 in a temporary, part-time role described as a "labor relations analyst II" for Equal Employment Opportunity investigations, according to her personnel records.
Since then, her findings have been drawn into a legal battle waged by the chief's opponents within the department.
The attorney for many of them is Robert Newcomb, a frequent advocate for police officials in court. His clients include Charles Starks, the former Little Rock officer whom Humphrey terminated after Starks fatally shot Bradley Blackshire during a traffic stop in 2019.
Over the course of recent months, Newcomb has tried to obtain Cochran's final report from the city -- the summary reportedly numbers 27 pages, in addition to thousands of pages of supporting documentation -- for purposes related to his clients' claims against the chief.
A Pulaski County circuit judge ruled earlier this month that Newcomb could see the records compiled by Cochran, but only under secrecy provisions that restrict Newcomb's use of the documents to the litigation in which he is representing Starks, the Democrat-Gazette reported.
At one point over the course of recent litigation, Newcomb obtained an email in which Cochran leveled criticism at Humphrey and two other police officials for their firing of David Mattox, one of Newcomb's other clients.
On Aug. 9, Cochran told Little Rock human resources director Stacey Witherell, "Just to reiterate my previous guidance, it is my opinion that the termination of Officer Mattox is a clear indication of racial discrimination, hostile working conditions, and retaliation by Lt. [Brittany] Gunn, Asst. Chief Crystal [Young-]Haskins, and Chief Keith Humphrey."
Cochran claimed the decision would likely "contribute to a continuing destabilization" of the Police Department and would expose the city to "ever increasing" monetary damages should Mattox or other department personnel decide to sue.
It's unclear whether the GoFundMe donation to which Scott referred in his statement Monday was provided by Cochran to an online fundraiser organized by Mattox's supporters.
As of Monday evening, the GoFundMe arranged to support Mattox and his family in the wake of his termination had raised nearly $6,000 of its $10,000 goal from 58 donors.
Scott announced in the same statement Monday that findings from an outside audit of the Police Department initiated last year would be presented to members of the city's Board of Directors at a meeting today.
The departmental review was conducted by the Center for Justice Research and Innovation, which is housed at the Arlington, Va.-based nonprofit group CNA.
Scott tied the unveiling of the audit's results to the recently concluded human-resources investigation into Humphrey.
Despite the finding of no discipline for the chief, Scott's Office of Executive Administration "recognizes the critical need to make procedural changes within the LRPD that have come to our attention through this investigation and the independent audit to avoid future issues within the department," he said.
Scott called for an independent review of the Police Department in May 2020 after lawsuits were filed against the chief by several of his colleagues.
In his statement Monday, Scott said CNA was selected as a result of a competitive bid. Its analysis covered a list of subjects including training, the promotional process, deescalation, harassment, nepotism, cultural competency, body-worn cameras, vehicle pursuits and more, he said.
"Findings from this report include: significant discretion to the Chief of Police regarding accountability; disparate outcomes for non-white female personnel; and deficiencies with LRPD's nepotism and harassment policies, among dozens more," Scott said.
The final report from CNA will be presented today at the board's agenda meeting and simultaneously posted online at littlerock.gov/LRPDreview, Scott said.
The mayor also said he had asked Humphrey to appoint a task force from among the membership of the Fraternal Order of Police and the Black Police Officers Association to produce a plan for implementing the audit findings.
A nine-member independent review committee that the city formed last year will conduct a public meeting at a later date for CNA to take questions from the public, according to Scott's statement.