** UPDATED - 12/01/17** LITTLE ROCK BLACK POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION MAKES ANOTHER COMPLAINT TO CHIEF BUCKNER - WILL IT BE IGNORED LIKE PREVIOUS ONES?

An email sent earlier this week by troubled City Manger Bruce Moore to Mayor Stodola and the Board of Directors reveals more problems with the Little Rock Police Department and its recruiting process.

BRUCE MOORE - LITTLE ROCK CITY MANAGER

This latest issue follows on the heels of a complaint the Black Police Officers Association sent to the Board of Directors back on July 5th and a grass roots group called Citizens for Credibility and Truth in Little Rock Leadership seeking the resignation or removal of both Moore and Buckner.

We are in the process of obtaining a screenshot of the LRPD cadet's Facebook page on which the racial remark and image were posted as well as a copy of the letter the BPOA sent to Bruce Moore.

Stay tuned for updates. 

************

UPDATE - 11/24/17 7:00 A.M. 

We have obtained a copy of the post made be LRPD recruit that was the subject of a complaint made to LRPD Chief Kenton Tremar Buckner by the Black Police Officers Association earlier this week.

The now deleted Facebook post was made by LRPD Recruit Brandon Schiefelbein.

Schiefelbein has two Facebook pages that we know about. 

From the profile photo, the post was apparently made on the page https://www.facebook.com/brandon.schiefelbein.50 .

Even more disturbing, if that is possible, is the fact that Schiefebein is member or supporter or two fringe groups - 3 Percenters and American Resistance Movement.

THE NAMES OF THE TWO EXTREMIST GROUPS APPEARS ON THE COVER PHOTO OF HIS FB PAGE

Yesterday, we emailed a FOI request to Chief Buckner for a copy of the letter the Black Police Officers Association sent to him.

This was his response.

 
We sent an email to confirm that our FOI request was denied.

Then City Attorney Tom Carpenter jumped in.

We responded to Tom's attempt to neuter Buckner's flippant remarks.

Then from left field comes an email from LRPD's Public Relations Unit new leader. Micheal "No Comment" Ford.

We responded in kind.

LT. MICHAEL FORD

Things should get interesting today.  The city is behind is responded to a previous FOI request and they will be hit with several new ones today.

Schiefelbein has no place on any police force, especially not LRPD. Not with his racial bias and affiliation with those far right extremist groups.

We join the group Citizens for Credibility and Truth in Little Rock Leadership and demand the immediate resignation of LRPD Chief Kenton Tremar Buckner and City Manager Bruce Moore. 

************

***UPDATE - 11/24/17 12:00 PM***

As expected, LRPD had to cave in and provide the information we requested.

Here is the letter that the BPOA sent Chief Kenton Tremar Buckner. Word is that City Attorney Tom Carpenter had to set them straight.

Maybe next time Buckner and his minions will think twice before they flippantly respond to a FOI request.  We won't hold our breath.

************

LRPD issued a "resonse" after the other news media sources picked up the story we broke yesterday.  

 

 ***UPDATE - 12/01/17***

According to information we obtained yesterday evening, the LRPD and city of Little Rock are waffling on decision to fire LRPD recruit that made racial post and is affiliated with 2 right wing extremist groups after threat of a lawsuit by Robert Newcomb, a Little Rock employment attorney.

The city is now concerned about  Schiefebein's First Amendment Rights to post racial things on social media when they routinely violate those of actual citizens of the city (Schiefebein lives in Cabot).  

They don't seem to care that this matter has caused other LRPD recruits, especially the black ones, to have concerns about their fellow recruit and create and hostile work environment.  Word is that several confronted him after this matter was in the news.

In fact the publisher of this blog has been blocked by LRPD from being able to post on their social media pages and cannot provide a reason why. 

The Arkansas Military Department ("AMD") is investigating Schiefebein as he is currently an active member of the Arkansas National Guard.  Posts like the one he made back in 2013 violate military standards and are actionable.  He affiliation with those two extremist groups are of an even greater concern according to a confidential source within the AMD.

Schiefebein (far left) has tats covered by a flesh colored sleeve

A photo from a November 20th article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette shows Schiefebein and his left arm is covered by a flesh colored sleeve to hide tattoos on his arm.

Are his tats reflective of his racial values and belief's and thus LRPS made him cover them up?

The racial post made by LRPD recruit Schiefebein and his affiliation with at least two right wing extremist groups reflect on his core values and beliefs. Values and beliefs that are contradictory  to those of the Little Rock Police Department and the city of Little Rock.

This post has created an atmosphere of distrust among black recruits in the class with Schiefebein, and while it was posted in 2013, it is still a concern in 2017.

Arkansas is an “at will’ employment state and LRPD needs no reason to terminate the employment of any individual, especially one on probationary employment as is Schiefebein.

If city attorney Tom Carpenter has concerns about the city being able to successfully defend any action Schiefebein might bring against the city if he is fired, then we suggest that the city hire outside counsel to defend the city (Stephen Morley comes to mind as a successful litigator).

If Schiefebein is not fired, the tarnished reputation of the Little Rock Police Department will drop down another rung on the ladder of respectability  and the racial divide of the city will widen.

They need to do the right thing for the city and citizens of Little Rock and fire Schiefebein and show the world that the city of Little Rock and the Little Rock Police Department will not tolerate racism.



  

CRISIS IN THE COMMUNITY MEETING REVEALS CHAOS IN LEADERSHIP

HALF A DOZEN UNIFORMED LRPD OFFICERS SAT SILENT DURING THE MEETING

The "Crisis in the Community" meeting that Director Ken Richardson held at the Willie Hinton Community Center last night was not your friendly neighborhood get together. 

Few paid attention to Director Richardson's admonishment that no personal attacks were to occur. The crowd and the speakers tossed them around like a frisbee.

Frustrated and angry citizens questioned the actions of the City Manager and Police Chief. 

The Police Chief, as he usually does when cornered took aim and lashed out at one of the audience members, Dr. Anika Whitefield, when she questioned targeting blacks for marijuana use and the lack of development districts in Ward 2.

DR ANIKA WHITFIELD EXPRESSES HER CONCERNS

One more notable event was when Director Richardson made cutting comments about police pulling him over while driving through his ward, which resulted in a long stink eye stare from Buckner aimed at Richardson.

 

BUCKNER AND RICHARDSON LOCKED IN A STARE BATTLE

THE BUCKNER STINK EYE TREATMENT

Buckner was not the only one to give a gloating look during the meeting.

City Manager Bruce Moore yelled out "no personal attacks" when a citizens said he was a good person but a bad city director.

THE MOORE STINK EYE STARE

Several audience members voiced the same complaints as the newly formed Citizens for Credibility and Trust in Little Rock Leadership . 

The city leaders present made several veiled comments about "disinformation"  being spread.  The information put forth by the newly formed group was supported by no less than 25 pages of documents that backed up their assertions made at a press conference last Friday on the steps of Little Rock City Hall.

Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Wendell Griffen addressed the group and stated that "Little Rock is running out of time."

JUDGE & PASTOR WENDELL GRIFFEN

Griffen stated that "every major civil disorder began with a police encounter that went bad."  He added that "there is not a correlation between traffic stops and homicides" referring to the problem of LRPD's so called "positive engagement stops" in which LRPD officers randomly stop vehicles and issue verbal warnings for some minor infraction just so they can check the individuals name to see if there are warrants so they can arrest people of color.

Griffen also stated that you "don't police neighborhoods out of violence...people relate their way out of violence. If you don't have good relations, you can flood people with police and all you have is people controlled and they are waiting to act out their rage."

The loss of trust in our city leadership demands change. We need to clean out city hall in the next election and restore credibility in Little Rock city government.

************

Local network news coverage of the meeting.

************

GROUP CALLS FOR CITY MANAGER AND POLICE CHIEF TO RESIGN

Citizens for Credibility & Trust in Little Rock Leadership by razrbak on Scribd