POLICY AT LRPD TO NOT TICKET OFFICERS VIOLATING LAWS IS INDICATIVE OF CORRUPTION - WEAK & INNEFECTIVE CITY LEADERS ALLOW SPECIAL TREATMENT

 

IF YOU CAUSE AN ACCIDENT IN LR YOU GET A TICKET - UNLESS YOU ARE THE CHIEF OF POLICE OR ANY OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER

What happens if you follow to close to another vehicle and run into it?  You will no doubt receive a ticket citing Arkansas Code Annotated § 27-51-305. 

That is unless your are a on or off-duty law enforcement officer.

LRPD has established an illegal policy/procedure that violates laws of the State of Arkansas and Little Rock Municipal Ordinances. If any law enforcement officer is involved in an accident, on or off duty, even if they caused the accident, no citation is issued - like it would be to any citizen - instead a secretive process takes place before a review board which then makes a decision about a ticket.  No doubt the decisions of this secretive panel are favorable to the officer involved and no ticket results.

LR MUNICIPAL ORDINANCE SEC. 32-36

Even a LRPD internal rule/regulation states that laws are to be enforced.

This process is an affront to the established system of justice in our city and state and ipso facto places these officers above the law.

If an officer causes an accident, they should be immediately issued a ticket by a responding officer and if the officer wants to contest the ticket, he or she should then appear at Traffic Court like any other individual does.

It took months of making inquiries to find out why LRPD and city leadership would not respond to FOI requests for information about the illegal process.

After the publisher of this blog tired of lack of transparency and the city's failure to comply with FOI requests, he addressed the LR Board of Directors about the matter at a June meeting, an answer was finally reluctantly provided. 

What sparked our interest in this matter was two accidents that LRPD Chief Kenton Tremar Buckner was involved in and apparently from incident reports we obtained the cause of each accident.

Buckner did not receive a ticket in either incident.  Smell the stink of corruption?

The first accident occurred on Sunday, April 10, 2016 in the parking lot of David Family Diner.

DAVID FAMILY DINER

Buckner had just finished eating lunch and when backing out of a parking space in his city issued vehicle - a 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe, he rammed into a vehicle being driven by Christopher Green. Green had two small children in his vehicle.

The LRPD Officer that responded, Sgt. Robert Oldham,  made the notation that Buckner stated he was backing out of a parking space and rammed into Green's vehicle.  Sgt. Oldham noted that Buckner had driven in a "careless and prohibited manner, improper backing", which caused the accident.

Buckner did not receive a ticket for causing the accident.

We know that LRPD will issue tickets in similar incidents as the publisher of this blog had a family member involved is a similar accident and a ticket was issued by LRPD.

Fast forward to March of this year.  

On March 2nd at approximately 5:40 p.m., Chief Buckner was driving on east Markham Street (just past the Pulaski County Courthouse - heading for the bar district). He was following the vehicle in front of him too closely and when the driver of that vehicle, Robert Kort,  had to stop to allow a pedestrian to cross the street Buckner rammed into his vehicle.

LRPD Officer Fran Watkins was the responding officer and she marked on page 10 of the accident report that her boss, Chief Bucker was following too closely.

As in the previous accident, Buckner was not issued a ticket.

This is incredible. If any regular citizen did what Buckner did, they would have received a ticket in a heartbeat.  

It's no wonder that the citizens of Little Rock have little confidence or respect for their police department when this kind of malfeasance and corruption is a regular occurrence. Add the fact that over half of the uniformed officers refuse to live in Little Rock due to crime and the failed public school system (mostly white officers) and get to use police cars to drive to and from work - one officer lives in Malvern and get to travel to and from work on our dime every day- the public has had enough and is demanding changes.

We sent a Freedom of Information Request to the city to obtain a copy of any policy or procedure regarding vehicles issued to department heads.

That is also unbelievable.  Every department in the city of Little Rock that permits an employee to use a city owned vehicle has a written policy/procedure regarding vehicle use.

LRPD policy prohibits personal use of a city owned vehicle, the exception being getting a free ride to and from work.   

Buckner has two personal vehicles. A 2000 Mercedes-Benz and a 1966 Cadillac. 

CHIEF BUCKNER'S PERSONAL PIMP RIDES

He had them when he moved to Little Rock after being hired as Chief of Police.

We question his use and misuse of his city provided ride when he has two of his own personal vehicles he could to go to church, go eat lunch on weekends and after work, go to his favorite bar to get a few glasses of Bourbon or other personal errands.

We suspect he is too cheap to purchase his own gas. Certainly with the frequency he causes accidents it's nice to pass the cost of insurance claim payouts to the city's insurance carrier.  And with no citations issued his own insurance company has no idea that he had been the cause of accidents so they can raise his rates as he is a risk.

Buckner refused to respond to our inquiry about this matter.  Just about what you would expect from an individual that lacks character and is not man enough  deal with a pressing situation.

Public dissatisfaction and unrest with Little Rock city leadership is at an all time high.  Several individuals have indicated their intention to run for Mayor and the Board of Directors to oppose the current office holders.

It's time to clean house at city hall.  


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After obtaining a copy of the letter the Little Rock Black Police Officers Association sent the LR Board of Directors this week, it appears that there is a third accident that must have happened prior the the one in 2016.  We will make inquires and post an update of our findings.