SPRINGDALE — A lengthy discussion at Tuesday’s City Council and committee meetings created no changes in the decision to stop police escorts for funeral processions.
Funeral Escorts
Mark Hayes, General Counsel for the Arkansas Municipal League, said he was asked by Springdale officials about liability issues with funeral escorts. The city could have liability problems, he said. Arkansas doesn't give right of way to a funeral procession, he said. Only when an officer present at a traffic signal or stop sign waves a vehicle through can the driver not obey the device.
SOURCE: Arkansas Municipal League
The city has received much criticism for the decision, said Mayor Doug Sprouse.
“I will not apologize for stopping a practice once I was convinced it was unsafe,” Sprouse said. The Springdale Police Department stopped escorting funerals from churches or funeral homes to cemeteries Jan. 15. Police Chief Kathy O’Kelley brought the proposal to halt the escorts to the mayor after police officers told her of the danger, she said.
Alderman Jim Reed asked for a discussion of the change at Tuesday’s committee meeting, because of how quickly the change was made.
“The public didn’t get a chance to be heard,” Reed said. “Personally, I think we shouldn’t give up a time honored tradition.”
Safety, liability and a lack of manpower all contributed to the decision, O’Kelley said.
“The only way to make the procession safe is to have an officer at every intersection,” O’Kelley said. “We don’t have the people to do that.”
Paul Payne, pastor of Westside Free Will Baptist Church, said at the council meeting he’d never seen an accident during the many times he officiated at funerals.
“And I’ve preached at enough funerals to make up a small town,” Payne said.
Alderman Jeff Watson, in the committee meeting, said his aunt received a ticket when she hit a car while going through a red light as part of a funeral procession.
“We researched it,” said Watson, who is also an attorney. “The officer was right to give her one.”
Jake Franklin, a Springdale officer, said the time has passed when the city could safely escort funerals through town.
“We have grown,” Franklin said. “We have the same things here as a big city except the homicide rate and skyscrapers.”
Escorting processions requires an officer to stop traffic at one intersection, let a few vehicles go through, then leap-frog the line by speeding around them, O’Kelley said.
“If I saw a unit driving like that when responding to a crime in progress, I’d have a serious talk with them,” O’Kelley said.
Colby Fulfer with Westside Chapel asked if off -duty officers could escort funerals. O’Kelley asked if the six or seven officers present at the committee meeting would be interested in doing that. None volunteered they would.
Rusty Boyd, another officer, said he had seen too many near-misses of accidents.
“It’s one thing to risk your life in emergency situations,” Boyd said. “That’s what we do.”
It is different to risk your life and that of other people on the road by doing what required for a funeral escort, Boyd said.
Sprouse read a statement to start the council meeting that gave the reasons why he supported halting the escorts.
“I don’t expect everyone to agree with it,” Sprouse said. “I really wanted to give people the information I used to make that decision.”