HOW WE SEE IT: Sulphur Springs Makes Bad Call Hiring Brackney

Count us among those who were amazed when the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training last year upheld the certifi cation of Coleman “Duke” Brackney to be law enforcement off cer.

And now, we’re shocked the leaders of Sulphur Springs, a town of 500-plus people in northern Benton County, hired Brackney as their police chief.

Brackney may not be a household name, but he’s undoubtedly well-known in law enforcement ranks. He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor negligent homicide after he shot James Ahern to death in 2010 at the end of a two-mile, high-speed chase in Bella Vista. Brackney was, at the time, a Bella Vista police offcer. After the incident, he was fi red.

originally charged him with felony manslaughter. Ahern was drunk and had smoked marijuana but was unarmed. Brackney ended the incident by shooting Ahern fi ve times as the man drove his Mazda Miata. Afterthe car stopped, Ahern didn’t raise his arms to comply with Brackney’s orders and the off cer fi red a final, fatal shot into Ahern’s back. He claimed he thought Ahern was going to back the car toward him, but video evidence showed no indication the car’s reverse lights were on.

After his plea agreement to the misdemeanor, Brackney was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He worked four days as a jail trusty before Prosecutor Van Stone objected to him having that privilege.

But the leaders of Sulphur Springs believe he should be police chief.

The people they represent should be nervous.

The town’s leadership made him a duly authorized officer with a jurisdiction to work within, and he’s the unsupervised top law enforcement off cer to boot.

We find the judgment of the leaders in Sulphur Springs astonishing. The law enforcement standards commission flubbed it when they allowed Brackney to keep his certification, but the leaders in Sulphur Springs gave him authority to act in a law enforcement role. Just because he’s certified doesn’t mean he’s qualified.

But what about second chances? Don’t people deserve them?

Brackney deserves an opportunity to make a living. However, a terrible outcome arose out of his poor judgment in precisely the kind of tensionand adrenaline-filled moments law enforcement offcers are expected to handle professionally. He killed a man who should not have been killed. That really should be enough to disqualify him in the minds of reasonable people from ever serving in a gun-wielding position of responsibility again.

If a man is convicted of domestic abuse, he most certainly deserves a second chance to rebuild his life after he’s served his sentence. But would you put him to work in a home for battered women?

Individually, many of us rightly give people we care about second chances, even when they’ve caused serious damage. That’s a fair thing to do.

When an individual shows such grace, it’s that person who is willingly placing themselves in danger of being hurt again.

With Brackney’s hiring, we’re talking about public policy, public safety and public off cials’ responsibility to the greater community they have the honor to serve.

The mayor and City Council of Sulphur Springs have overstepped the moral bounds of giving second chances, because the risk they’ve taken by giving Brackney renewed authority in law enforcement isn’t a personal one. They are risking the entire community. We suggest that no matter how overwhelmingly they might have been elected, they were not given the authority to create such a risk for the people they serve.

Opinion, Pages 10 on 03/31/2013

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