PINE BLUFF — Mayor Carl Redus Jr. terminated Pine Bluff Police Chief John Howell during a weekly Monday morning meeting at City Hall after what Howell referred to as an argument involving crime in the city.
Redus declined to give a reason for firing Howell, who had been the Pine Bluff police chief since March 30,2006. He said he first wants to get advice from the city attorney’s office and the Arkansas Municipal League’s legal department.
Howell’s termination was effective Monday.
“I was totally shocked by this whole thing - I didn’t expect any of it,” Howell said Monday afternoon.
Howell said Redus told him during the meeting that neither the mayor nor thecity’s residents had confidence in the police department and that the mayor wanted to know how long it would take to turn around crime problems.
“He asked, ‘How long is it going to take to change this?’ And I said, ‘Probably a year,’ and he got real mad.”
“I said, ‘Mayor, if you don’t think I’m doing my job, then fire me,’ and he did.”
Howell said Redus was upset about how the department was handling a case involving weapons fired early Sunday at the corner of Harding and Main streets, near the mayor’s home.
No one was arrested in the shooting, which awakened the mayor and his neighbors, Howell said. Investigators found blood near the scene, Howell said, but no one checked into Jefferson Regional Memorial Center with a gunshot wound.
“I can’t take guns away from everyone in the city - it’s unconstitutional,” Howell said.
“We’ve lowered the crime rate some and solved some very difficult homicides. We haven’t had any altercations between officers. I won’t put up with that. To me, my record speaks for itself.”
Howell worked for 33 years with the Arkansas State Police, retiring as a lieutenant, and 18 months with the Arkansas Criminal Justice Institute before becoming police chief in Pine Bluff, he said.
Redus said the city’s four deputy police chiefs will report to him, and he hasn’t decided whether he will appoint an interim police chief.
“I can assure the citizens of Pine Bluff that we will continue to provide the service and protection that is needed for this municipality,” Redus said. “We’ll continue to fight crime.”
Redus said Howell’s termination had nothing to do with a homicide over the weekend.
Police arrested Curtis Hampton, 45, of Pine Bluff in the shooting death of Lashonda Price, 29. The shooting occurred at 8:40 p.m. Saturday outside a convenience store at 100 N. Walnut St.
Nor was the termination related to a federal discrimination lawsuit former police officer Kelven Hadley filed against the city over Hadley’s 2005 termination, Redus said.
The Pine Bluff City Council voted on March 1 to settle the lawsuit for $500,000, with half of the sum coming from the city and the other half coming from the Municipal League’s legal-defense fund.
During that council meeting, alderman Irene Holcomb criticized the Pine Bluff Police Department, saying: “Ever since I’ve been on this council, we’ve been paying out money for things that have gone on in the Police Department. This should be a lesson that that department needs to be straightened out, especially when we have to pay out megabucks for errors that were made.”
Reached by phone Monday, Holcomb said the mayor never told council members he planned to fire Howell. She declined additional comment.
Alderman Bill Brumett said Redus notified him of the termination Monday, saying that he fired the chief after a confrontation with him.
Brumett said the City Council could veto the termination with a two-thirds vote, although it’s unlikely that would happen.
“My personal position is that all of my dealings with the police chief have been very positive, and I thought he was making good progress,” Brumett said.
“The officers I have spoken with all seem to agree he was moving the department in the right direction and was doing a good job.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 7 on 03/09/2010