HUMAN RESOURCES EMPLOYEE VIOLATES ARKANSAS FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT BY REFUSING A VERBAL REQUEST FOR RECORDS

Shella Atlas (59), who was recently hired by the City of Little Rock to be the Labor and Employee Relations Manager in their Human Resources Department might need to hone up on the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

Atlas, who prior to her employment by the city was a substitute teacher at Little Rock Adventist Academy, told us yesterday that we could not make a verbal FOIA request.  Atlas demanded that our request be made in written form before she would accept it.  Atlas also stated that only paper copies of the documents would be made available.

Perhaps someone should  enlighten "Dr." Atlas as to the particulars of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

Under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act a verbal request is just as good as a written one and the requester can ask for the material requested to be provided in an electronic format.

 

We spoke with city attorney Tom Carpenter who was dismayed that Atlas was so out of touch with transparency laws.

 

TOM CARPENTER - LR CITY ATTORNEY

"Oh that's not good", Carpenter stated, when apprised of what Atlas had said.  "Usually we write down the request and repeat it back to make sure we have it correctly" added Carpenter.

Carpenter fired off an email to Stacey Witherell, Director of Human Resources for the City of Little Rock.

Witherell is no stranger to controversy as this story from the Arkansas Times 

last year revealed when she got sideways with Mayor Mark Stodola over a position he wanted for his personal staff.

 

WITHERELL'S "HEAD SHOT" PR PHOTO

The information we are seeking concerns Carl Daniels, a former city employee that is currently involved in an internal investigation at the Arkansas Military Department where she is tenuously employed.

It also appears that Atlas, a/k/a Shella Kalu, a/k/a Shella Ellis, a/k/a Shella Guiovana has a history of criminal activity.

As stewards of goodwill, we have obtained a nice certificate that Atlas can proudly display, next to her Argosy diploma, in her office or cubicle.

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In case you have never heard of Argosy University, it is a well-know diploma mill and ran into a little legal trouble not too long ago  which resulted in a multi-millon dollar settlement.

ARGOSY HAS A PHOTO TEMPLATE THAT "GRADUATES" CAN USE TO MAKE THEIR "DEGREE" APPEAR LEGIT

http://khon2.com/2015/11/16/parent-company-of-argosy-university-reaches-95-5m-settlement-with-united-states/

http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/16/pf/college/for-profit-college-edmc-settlement/

https://argosyscam.wordpress.com/about-argosy-university/

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/argosy-university-c239740.html


Perhaps the City of Little Rock should hire individual's based on experience and not to fill a racial quota.

 

INCORRECT WEB LINK ON CITY OF LITTLE ROCK WEB PAGE SENDS OVER 3700 LITTLE ROCK CRIME TIPS TO THE SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT

 

LITTLE ROCK HAS LONG HELD THE TITLE OF MOST DANGEROUS CITY OF ITS SIZE

Thousands of crime tips meant for Little Rock police were sent to an agency across the country in recent years because of an error on the city website.

A link to submit anonymous crime tips on www.littlerock.org mistakenly directed the information to Puget Sound Crime Stoppers of Seattle. The agency received about 3,700 crime tips intended for Little Rock police since 2013, according to emails the group sent to Little Rock police. The emails were released under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

The link was removed from the city website in July after an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter contacted both agencies about the mistake.

"I was like, 'OK, no wonder I got [Little Rock] tips,'" Puget Sound Crime Stoppers regional coordinator Ilona Bodderij said in an interview.

BODDERIJ FORWARDED TIPS TO LRPD 

Bodderij said she routinely forwarded crime tips to Little Rock police through TipSoft, a computer program both agencies used to manage such information. Passing along the information was "very easy," she wrote in an email to Little Rock police. TipSoft allows users to forward crime tips to each other within the program, or through email or fax.

Little Rock police Sgt. Cassandra Davis was the department's Crime Stoppers coordinator when its tips were being forwarded from an agency roughly 1,800 miles away.

SGT. CASSANDRA DAVIS - LRPD

"I always wondered why I was getting tips from Seattle," she said.

Little Rock police said it stopped using the TipSoft program in 2015 and joined Central Arkansas Crime Stoppers, a collaboration among several law enforcement agencies in the region. But emails show that Puget Sound continued to receive tips meant for Little Rock and tried to forward those tips using TipSoft.

Little Rock police did not receive those tips until Aug. 17, after Puget Sound Crime Stoppers learned the department was no longer using TipSoft. The information was sent through email.

Bodderij said the Seattle-based agency looked up and re-sent about 30 crime tips to Little Rock police. The oldest of the tips had been submitted in May, and the most recent had been filed Aug. 7, she said.

Little Rock police spokesman Richard Hilgeman, who took over the department's Crime Stoppers program last year, said it was unclear if the delay had affected any investigations. He said he simply passes along the tips to detectives. Sometimes he receives a dozen tips in a day, Hilgeman said. Sometimes there are none.

 

OFFICER RICHARD HILGEMAN - LRPD

The tips are exempt from public records requests.

It was unclear how the link to Puget Sound Crime Stoppers made it onto Little Rock's website. Internet archives show the link on the website in September 2014, but according to an archived web snapshot, the link was not there June 10, 2014.

A spokesman for TipSoft could not be reached for comment.

Davis, who now works in the Police Department's internal affairs division, said police had used TipSoft for about a decade. She said there's "not much collaboration" between the city and police when it comes to the municipal website.

Little Rock police spokesman Lt. Steve McClanahan, who became the department's public affairs director in June 2015, said he hadn't used the link.

LT. STEVE MCCLANAHAN - LRPD

McClanahan has instead used social media to encourage the public to submit information to police, telling residents to call (501) 371-4636 to provide anonymous tips.

However, the Little Rock Police Department is known to routinely deny certain individuals the ability to post comments on their Facebook and twitter pages, especially if the individual has made a comment that places the department in a bad light.  This act is seen as a violation of an individuals right to free speech.

City spokesman Jennifer Godwin said the link to Puget Sound Crime Stoppers was likely an oversight. She said the city did not have a staff member in charge of web content until recently. A new website is on the way, she said, and it will feature more collaboration between police and the city.

"Going forward, you will see a much more concerted website effort," Godwin said.

An invoice released under a public records request shows Little Rock police paid $1,680 for TipSoft services in the final year it used the program.

TipSoft is advertised as the most popular program of its kind in the world. The company states on its website that more than 600 Crime Stoppers programs, law enforcement agencies and schools use the program, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice.

The program provides encrypted communication services that allow tipsters to remain anonymous and keep confidential information secure.

TipSoft users in Arkansas are the Benton, Pine Bluff, Jonesboro and Conway police departments and the Jefferson County and Saline County sheriff's offices, according to the company website.

Bodderij, in an email to Little Rock police, said it was "very common to receive tips that are initially intended for other Crime Stoppers."

It also wasn't unusual for Little Rock police to receive tips meant for other agencies, according to Davis.

One wonders why Davis did not make inquires about the tips coming in to her that were not for Little Rock or the ones coming in from Seattle which might have resulted in discovery of the incorrect link on the Little Rock city webpage.

But that would require some investigative skills right?

LITTLE ROCK FIRE DEPARTMENT STILL BREAKS PARKING LAWS FOR PERSONAL REASONS - CHIEF REFUSES TO RESPOND TO QUESTIONS

In March, we posted a story about the Little Rock Fire Department flagrantly violating parking laws for personal use. Click here to read it.

LRFD Chief Gregory Summers assured us that he had addressed the issue.

 

LRFD CHIEF GREGORY SUMMERS

Apparently he told his firemen that they could park anywhere, anytime, for any reason.

We say that because on August 29th, we observed that his employees had parked a truck in a "no parking anytime" zone, within an intersection and right next to a fire hydrant on Polk Street just east on the Height Kroger store.

Apparently it is a regular occurrence at the Height's Kroger for the Fire Department to break the law while shopping for groceries. 

Search for "R and Polk Streets" on Google Earth street view and see what you find.

This is what you will find, LRFD Engine 1 parked in a "no parking anytime zone", on the wrong side of the street!  What assclowns.

Chief Summers did not respond to an email we sent and we don't think he will.  If he actually told his employees to follow the law, he should be furious that his firemen are setting such a bad example by breaking the law to eat lunch and grocery shop and making him look like a buffoon.

Perhaps a change is needed in city government and then a house cleaning for poor examples of leadership in city departments.

CODE ENFORCEMENT EMPLOYEE USES CITY OWNED VEHICLE FOR PERSONAL USE - CITY REFUSES TO ANSWER QUESTIONS

Alice Taylor,  a Code Enforcement Officer with the Planning Department was caught using a city vehicle that is apparently assigned to her (apparently because the city refuses to say if it is a Planning pool vehicle or one assigned to Taylor) at the Goodwill store in West Little Rock.

Taylor was shopping in the store and then seen carrying a bag of items she purchased to the city owned vehicle. As Taylor was opening the car door she was asked what city business she was conducting. Taylor refused to answer and quickly drove off.

One Freedom of Information request and several follow up questions were made to the city.  The FOI request was answered but the city balked on answering the following questions:

1.  Is vehicle 13A291 a pool vehicle in the Planning Department or is it assigned to Taylor?

2. Is there a policy/procedure regarding personal use of a city owned vehicle?

3. Are city employees permitted to use city owned vehicles for personal use?

4.  What city business was Taylor conducting at the Goodwill Store on August 1, 2016 at approximately 3:30 p.m.?

The public has a right to have questions answered by their city government and its employees, both elected and hired.

LRPD SLOW TO RESPOND TO CALLS IN WEST LITTLE ROCK

The Little Rock Police Department has organized Little Rock into three geographic divisions, Downtown, Southwest and Northwest.

If you live in the Northwest Division, LRPD will be slow to respond to your calls if at all. Response time for the Northwest division is much slower that the other two divisions.

 

LRPD Officer Richard Hilgeman calls the delayed response "stressful."

OFFICER RICHARD HILGEMAN

  

Hilgeman said there is a slightly delayed response time for people who live in the city's Northwest Division.

According to statistics from June 2016 the slight delay is almost double for the Northwest division than in the Downtown and Southwest divisions. 

Hilgeman said they're still working to open a new police substation in west Little Rock at the Pankey Community Center which he says should lower response times. He says adding more police officers would lower the response times as well.
 

THE NEVER USED AND UNFINISHED JOSEPHINE PANKEY EDUCATION CENTER

In November of 2013 the Little Rock Board of Directors approved the creation of the LRPD Panky Substation in the vacant and never used Josephine Pankey Education Center.  The center sits on property that was owned by the Little Rock Public School District and deeded to the city in February 2014. One million dollars from  a one cent sales tax measure is to be used to make internal improvements and complete the parking lot (unless the city used the funds for other purposes).

The existing Northwest Division station is located at 10001 Kanis Road and is only 6 miles or 10 minutes from the Josephine Pankey Education Center at 13640 Cantrell Road.

A call made to LRPD on August 1st about a stolen lawnmower in West Little Rock, had a much longer response time.

At approximately 7:30 p.m. a WLR homeowner observed three black males in a white Chevrolet SUV with Arkansas license plate 845 WTF drive off with their lawnmower. A call was immediately made to 911. Almost three and a half hours later, LRPD stopped in (without the lawnmover).  The residence where the theft took place is approximately 2 miles from the Northwest LRPD Station.  Incredible.

LRPD needs to stop making excuses and don that expensive riot gear and protect the citizens of Little Rock.

As long as a majority of LRPD personnel refuse to live in the city, the problems are just going to continue to grow.

LRPD TELLS CITIZENS THEY WON'T SEND AN OFFICER TO RESPOND TO PROPERTY CRIMES

Someone loitering near your home or steal something out of your garage or carport?  Little Rock Police ain't got time for that says LRPD Chief Kenton Buckner.

Back in May,  Chief Buckner told a reporter for KTHV that their agency is down 50 sworn in officers, which is forcing him to move officers around to meet the highest priority safety need.

“We had to take COP officers from all three of our patrol divisions to help fill some of those gaps, and those folks are still in those positions,” said Buckner.

COP officers are Community Oriented Police, meaning they target niche neighborhoods, helping crime prevention.

With low recruitment numbers, now those COP officers are being moved to high priority crimes, like 911 calls and public danger.

“We're certainly going to respond to a domestic violence call a lot quicker than we would be for a stolen bike,” said Buckner.

Which makes sense, but in Little Rock, 80 percent of crime is property theft.

Working with short staff, Chief Buckner is looking to other options to tackle property crimes.

“Maybe do that via telephone or some online service because I want to reduce the number of calls I’m sending officers to that don't involve violent crime,” said Buckner.

This is what happens when you have a police department that only has 34% of their officers that actually reside in the city of Little Rock.

These officers don't want to live in Little Rock, next door to you, or send their kids to school with your kids, so why would they care what happens to your property?

It's time for a change in city government... from the mayor, city manager, board members down to department heads.

JUDGE LEVIES A $10,000 SANCTION AGAINST THE CITY OF LITTLE ROCK AND ORDERS LITTLE ROCK CITY ATTORNEY TO ATTEND EDUCATIONAL SEMINAR

SMART-ASS CITY ATTORNEY TOM CARPENTER ORDERED TO ATTEND SEMINAR ON CASE MANAGEMENT AND ETHICS

The city of Little Rock has filed a notice of appeal of the $10,000 sanction and contempt-of-court citation issued against it by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox.

The notice was a formality that comes before City Attorney Tom Carpenter will file an official appeal with the Arkansas Supreme Court that will include briefs detailing his legal argument.

Carpenter stated that his argument will be the same as when he petitioned Fox to reconsider the sanction and argued against the judge holding the city in contempt.

"The appeal is about whether proper procedures and notice were provided. All the city has asked is that the court follow the rules. So, we are asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to determine whether the written rules should be followed, or whether they can be ignored," Carpenter said Wednesday.

Fox issued the $10,000 sanction on April 25 after approving a third motion for additional time for the city to prepare for trial in the case of Tiffany Malone v. City of Little Rock.

Malone, a former Little Rock police officer, is alleging gender discrimination and retaliation in her lawsuit against the city. The case was originally set to go to trial in May.

Fox expressed frustration that the trial had to be postponed, and said the city attorney handling the case -- LaTonya Austin -- wasn't prepared. Austin resigned the day of the fine under threats that she would be fired if she did not resign, she said.

LATONYA AUSTIN

Austin "made numerous statements on the record indicating she had not properly or professionally prepared the case for trial and that she had failed and refused to comply with the court's Scheduling Order," Fox wrote when issuing the fine.

Carpenter argued in court filings at the time that the city was prepared for trial and that the sanction was improper under Arkansas law.

He said the rule Fox cited when he issued the sanction -- Rule 11 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure -- is to punish an attorney, not a defendant. The city is the defendant in the case and was the entity Fox sanctioned.

In the event a judge does sanction a party to a lawsuit, certain procedures must be followed and Fox did not follow those guidelines, Carpenter said.

"The Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure provide limited grounds for the entry of a sanction against a party represented by counsel, and both of these instances mandate notice and an opportunity to respond within 14 days of such notice," Carpenter wrote.

He also said the rule requires the court to issue a show cause order and give notice so that the party has an opportunity to respond to the charges levied against it, which Fox didn't do.Carpenter added that Rule 11 "does not extend to failure to comply with a court's orders," which is what Fox alleged the city's attorney did by not following the scheduling order that set trial for early May.

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It's way past time for City Manager Bruce Moore to ask Tommy Boy to "retire".