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.

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Local network news coverage of the meeting.

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GROUP CALLS FOR CITY MANAGER AND POLICE CHIEF TO RESIGN

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

CITY MANAGER AND POLICE CHIEF HAVE SERIOUS ISSUES WITH CREDIBILTIY

CHIEF KENTON TREMAR BUCKNER AND HIS TOADY, CITY MANAGER BRUCE MOORE

We have previously posted about City Manager Bruce Moore sending out a defamatory email about renowned activist Reverend Benny Johnson of Arkansas Stop the Violence (you can view that post by clicking here) and his refusal to make a public apology when we pointed out that what he said in that email was a lie.

You can add to his list of colossal screw-ups another email in which he stated that the shooter in the Power Lounge mass shooting was the rapper that was performing.

  

An article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette back in July pointed out that this was not factual and Moore told them that he based that statement on what individuals that were in the club that night called and told him.  Funny that Moore did not let his buddy Buckner know about these alleged witnesses as LRPD bemoaned the fact that no one was coming forward.

Then you have Moore's blatant lie that the $5000 signing bonus given to successful LRPD cadets is not a signing bonus at all, despite video recorded news reports in which he specifically calls the $5000 payment a signing bonus (you can read out post about that by clicking here).

Moore's lack of fiduciary responsibility by giving a $5000k no-strings-attached bonus resulted in two officers taking the money and quitting. One after three months on the job and the other after six months.

Moore has refused to answer questions we put to him about the signing bonus program (you can read about that by clicking here).

Where do we begin about Chief Kenton Tremar Buckner.   The list for him grows each day.

He lost a city issued handgun and still can't explain how that happened.

Buckner demanded that the Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission give him a letter grade on his performance as chief after a year on the job. They did and it was an "F" (you can see their letter and score sheet to Buckner in this post). The two high marks he received were for attending meetings - we suspect a meal was involved - giving away turkeys at Thanksgiving, and using social media - to post where he ate a meal or went to church. He failed on every aspect that involved planning and administrative functions. No surprise there.

At a board meeting on June 15, 2015, Buckner got upset when directors questioned his dismantling the COP program. Moore had to intercede to keep Buckner from tongue-lashing directors. He said that the directors asking him those kinds of questions was "dangerous."

Back in April at a special called meeting he blamed bad parenting for the problem. Yet he stated that he refused to have his officers cite juveniles for violating the juvenile curfew.

One way to get parents involved is to use that curfew to force them to become involved with their kids. Those parents would have to show up in court and answer questions as to why their kids were violating the curfew.

It is not his place to decide which laws to enforce. In fact that violates city ordinances and LRPD policy.

Speaking of not enforcing laws, remember our post about LRPD officers not getting tickets for causing traffic accidents on or off duty?  You can read about those shenanigans by clicking here.

Back to our list....

The Little Rock Black Police Officers Association filed a formal complaint about him with the Little Rock Board of Directors in July 2017 (you can see their letter by clicking here).

Around the same time that the complaint about him was made to the LRBOD, Buckner was feeling the heat from all the violence in the city.

Governor Asa Hutchinson held a press conference and stated that he was directing the State Police to help keep the streets of Little Rock safe and forming a task force.

Buckner was miffed about having the board ask him about getting help at that Special Called Meeting back in April and he refused to be a part of the Governor's press conference. Later when he caught flack he said he was a funeral.

Director Lance Hines asked Buckner at the July 5, 2017 board meeting about getting help from the ASP patrolling areas of the city. Buckner rejected that idea.

What Buckner did not tell the board was that he had already asked the State Police for help.  Why he did not tell that to the board and was being so deceptive is something he needs to explain. 

 

Another strike against Buckner's credibility is what he stated at a Town Hall meeting back in September.

The publisher of this blog asked him about the targeting of the homeless population in the city, especially just a few blocks west of his office when all the complaint were not substantiated.

Buckner proceeded to list several of the alleged activities that Michelle Hastings had emailed to him and city hall leadership.

The publisher of this blog interrupted him and stated that incidents that he had just related had been proved to be unfounded.

Buckner questioned how the publisher was able to state that the complaints were not valid.  The publisher stated that he could make that statement as the information that LRPD had provided to him in a FOI response about the complaints specifically concluded that majority of the complaint were unfounded or not police department issues.

Buckner has fought and tried to not provide information just about every time we have submitted a FOI request to him and LRPD for documents. You can read about that by clicking here, here and here.

We are at a crossroads here in Little Rock. We have the opportunity to clean house next year by electing a new mayor and board members. The problem of Moore and Buckner should be on the top of their action list.

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WELL KNOWN ACTIVIST VICTIMIZED AND MALIGNED BY LRPD AFTER HE CALLS 911 TO REPORT GUNFIRE OUTSIDE HIS RESIDENCE

LRPD OFFICERS HAVE DIFFICULTY TELLING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CELLPHONE AND A GUN

Records that were once again not easily obtained from the Little Rock Police Department (see our previous post) clearly show overworked, fatigued officers making a near fatal mistake that could have resulted in tragedy. 

For the second time in less than a month, LRPD officers mistook a cellphone for a gun. Fortunately, this time no one was shot.

Rather than repeat what transpired, watch this video and you will have a clear picture of what happened.

This second video contains recordings from other officers that responded. 

The officers try and justify their actions. Some had an obsessive fascination with the shirt Rev. Johnson was wearing while some others question his right to stand in his own residence and look out the window to see what all the yelling is about. One states that the 911 calls were fabricated to set up the police.

Perhaps all the mandatory overtime is taking a toll on the morale and performance of Little Rock police officers.

The police report filed by officer Eddie Scott Seaton reveals several faulty assumptions/statements.

LRPD OFFICER EDDIE SCOTT SEATON

The first faulty assumption/statement is that no one wanted to be contacted about the call. That is easily refuted in the 911 calls.  The 911 dispatcher did not ask Rev. Johnson if he wanted to speak to officers as she did to the second 911 caller, nor did she remain on the line long enough for Rev. Johnson to state a whether or not he had a desire to speak with officers.

The second faulty assumption/statement is that LRPD officers asked Rev. Johnson if it was okay to search his apartment, the recordings clearly reveal that officers told him that they needed to search his apartment and they never asked permission nor did Rev. Johnson give an affirmative reply. You must remember that the officers told Rev. Johnson to come out of his apartment with his hands on his head. They had weapons ready and did not wait for his permission even after he stated he was the only one in the apartments and officers stated he was the one observed in the window.

The third faulty assumption/statement is that the gunfire was not gang related. LRPD had no idea who fired a weapon or why or if they were affiliated with a gang - what LRPD calls a "rival party". Officers responding reported that they had an earlier call that same day for shots fired and had received a similar call in the last two weeks.

And in regard to the damage to the exterior door and door frame - the apartment manger advises that she has never been contacted by anyone from LRPD about the damages. She told use that she had her maintenance man make some repairs to the door frame so that the door could be locked for the security of the occupants.

LRPD Sgt. Chris Phillips submitted a memorandum to Lt. C.P. Thomas.
 

Lt. C.P. Thomas just happens to be the father of Officer Hannah Thomas, one of the officers that responded and is the officer that claimed Rev. Johnson's 911 call and that of the other 911 caller about shots fired was a "set up" - see second video posted.

The memorandum mentions "minor damage" to the door frame. That is an understatement. The strike plate was ripped off and the wood fascia was split in two.

 

And that list provided to Rev. Johnson had more names on it that the list provided to us by LRPD in response to a FOI request.

LIST OF OFFICERS PROVIDED TO REV. JOHNSON

The names of Sgt. L Elizandro and Officer K. Snow were on the list given to Rev. Johnson but were not on the list provided to us. No explanation has yet been received for the discrepancy. 

The citizens of Little Rock deserve an explication from Chief Buckner as to why his officers appear to have such a great problem distinguishing the difference between a cellphone and a handgun.

We believe that it was divine guidance that prompted Rev. Johnson to step away from the window when he did.  We fear that had he remained in the window in plain sight of the worked-up officers, they might had fired their weapons at him had he moved his arm and what they believed was a gun.

Changes are needed in city leadership.


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We are pleased to announce the endorsement of our efforts by LRPD Chief Kenton Tremar Buckner.

Maybe now he will remove the blocks his agency has place on the publisher of this blog to access his agencies social media pages.

ETHICS COMMISSION REAFFIRMS IT'S POSITON ON EXPLORATORY COMMITTEES IN RESPONSE TO CITY OF LITTLE ROCK'S REQUEST FOR AN ADVISORY OPINION

The Arkansas Ethics Commission has reaffirmed their position that they are not vested with enforcement powers with respect to municipal ordinances and that exploratory committees are permissible under Arkansas law.

 

In an email to the publisher of this blog, Little Rock City Attorney Tom Carpenter expresses his curiosity about what he calls the Arkansas Ethics Commissions "non ruling."

Apparently Carpenter only learned of the issuance of the opinion after a reporter called him about it.

As the Ethics Commission made clear in their response to a citizens complaint about potential mayoral candidate Warrick Sabin, they are not empowered to look into or deal with municipal ordinance issues. 

We expect that the Little Rock Board of Director's will shortly decide to file a lawsuit seeking to stop the two exploratory committees of the stated challengers of Mayor Mark Stodola.


#CleanOutLRCityHall #TimeForChange  #EPluribusUnum  #WOKE

LRPD RELUCTANT TO RELEASE VIDEO AND AUDIO RECORDINGS OF INCIDENT INVOLVING REV. BENNY JOHNSON - FOR GOOD REASON, TO AVOID EMBARASSMENT

After reviewing a dozen DVD's the Little Rock Police Department had to be forced to release, we can understand why they did not want them to get out into the light of day.

They reveal officers as over-worked and beleaguered to the point of questioning their choice of profession – one actually makes that comment.   

Another claims that after finding out who Rev. Johnson was and another man that also called in to report shots fired (also a preacher living in a nearby neighborhood) that it was a “set up.” 

One that knew Rev. Johnson was too embarrassed (or afraid) to go talk to him. 

Officers also state that one officer overreacted and got all the others stirred up. 

After the fact, the one officer that yelled out “gun” and almost got Rev. Johnson shot, claimed Johnson was “standing in the window with a bunch of weapons just chillin’.”

It is our opinion that if Rev. Johnson had not backed away from the window when they heard the one officer shout “gun”, and they all shined lights on his window, he would have been shot had he moved what the officer thought was a gun away from his head.

One interesting thing is that one reason LRPD was not going to release  two videos to us initially (which turned out to be many more) was because they claimed they contained personnel information. 

City Attorney Tom Carpenter said the "personnel information"  was a personnel number.  

One of the videos actually has an officer state his personnel number over the radio to someone and it was not masked in the DVD provided to use after a two day battle to get LRPD to cooperate and release the videos pursuant to a Freedom of Information request

One video did have the audio drop out for 8 minutes, and we believe it was due to the officer turning off his microphone to avoid having the conversation recorded.

We are in the process of making a video from the 15 DVD's and one CD of the 911 calls and subsequent radio traffic so that you can see and hear it all for yourself.

It was from that radio traffic (and a list of officers that had been given to Rev. Johnson the day following his avoidable experience) that we realized we had not been given all the video/audio recordings of the officers that responded.

Here is how this saga unfolded.

We sent a FOI request to LRPD on October the 8th, after they claimed that they busted down a communal hallway door believing that a man was trying to kill himself. They had mistaken a cellphone for a handgun and the man they saw was Rev. Johnson - one of the individuals that had called 911 after hearing multiple gunshots.

LRPD sent this response.

We sent this back.

Then LRPD sent this.

Yes, apparently Sgt. Prater is not tech-savvy. So we sent this.

Apparently LRPD was concerned that we might have some malicious software on a DVD that would damage their DVD duplicator.  Readers will recall a similar request we made last month in which we called out the city on their BS.  You can read about that by clicking here, here and here.

Our email must have gotten the point across, or perhaps it was the telephone conversion we had with city attorney Carpenter.

So the next day we attempted to copy the DVD but it was going to take hours so we left DVD's for LRPD to burn us copies. We were able to copy a CD of the 911 calls and radio traffic.

The following day, we received notification that the DVD's were ready and we asked for some missing documents (which we have never received) 

After viewing the video's we found that one appeared to have been cut off in mid sentence.

 Then we received an email from Carpenter.

We told Carpenter there was still information sought that had not been provided.

And this email showed up.

And we sent this back.

That got things ramped up a bit and we got a reach-around from KTB.

Then another telephone conversation with our friend Tom took place. Short sory is that he agreed that under the AFOIA, LRPD had to release those DVD's and remove exempt material (those pesky personnel numbers) from non-exempt material.

And then we received this. We laughed so hard we almost sharted.

Why LRPD and the city fights so hard to hide the things they try to hide is very telling about our city leadership. 

We suspect that the city/LRPD expects most folks to just give up.

Not us. We are not most folks and they should know that by now. We are for truth and transparency and we will get it. You can take that to the bank.

#CLEANOUTLRCITYHALL  #TIMEFORCHANCE #EPLURIBUSUNUM #WOKE

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Look for that video to be released next week.  It will be worth the wait.