Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson appointed Bill Bryant, his former chief of congressional affairs at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, as director of the Arkansas State Police on Wednesday.
Bryant, 58, is currently the Arkansas director of the Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, a federal organization that supports local law enforcement agencies in drug interdiction operations.
Bryant will replace Col. Stan Witt as the top official in Arkansas' largest law enforcement agency when Hutchinson is sworn in as governor Jan. 13. Witt was appointed state police director by Gov. Mike Beebe in August 2012 to replace the retiring J.R. Howard. Witt will continue serving as director for the remainder of Beebe's term.
State police spokesman Bill Sadler said Wednesday that Bryant is a "familiar face." Bryant spent 20 years of his law enforcement career at the Little Rock District office of the DEA, where he was a criminal investigator, resident agent in charge and, most recently, assistant special agent in charge.
"Certainly there has been a working relationship with the DEA and the drug interdiction unit assigned to the highway patrol division, and an even closer working relationship with the criminal investigations division," Sadler said. "It was not unusual for criminal investigation agents who may be assigned to a narcotics case to share information with DEA and vice versa.
"State police has a long history of working with the DEA and a good relationship of working with the DEA, and many of those years have been under the leadership of Bill Bryant."
Bryant said by phone Wednesday that he's become "very familiar" with the Arkansas State Police over the years, but declined to comment further until he takes over his position at the agency. He referred questions to Hutchinson spokesman J.R. Davis.
"I think it's more appropriate at this time to defer to them," Bryant said.
Hutchinson, a former DEA administrator, lauded Bryant's nearly four decades as a lawman in a news release Wednesday. That time included a stint in 2001 as the DEA's chief of congressional affairs under Hutchinson and another former DEA administrator, Donnie Marshall.
"Bill's extensive experience at all levels within the law enforcement community makes him the ideal person for this key law enforcement position," Hutchinson said. "While I served as administrator of the DEA, I had the privilege of working with Bill on both drug enforcement efforts and my initiatives to strengthen drug education and prevention programs. ... Bill's integrity and dedication is respected by law enforcement professionals across the nation and I have no doubt that Bill will be a great leader of the Arkansas State Police."
Bryant began his law enforcement career in 1976 as a police officer at Sam Houston State University in Texas, where he earned a bachelor's degree in law enforcement and police science and a master's degree in police science and administration.
He joined the Police Department in Huntsville, Texas, two years later and rose to the rank of lieutenant in the criminal investigations division.
Bryant began working for the DEA in 1984 at its Dallas office. He was assigned to the DEA's Little Rock office in 1991, where he stayed until being transferred to the agency's headquarters in Arlington, Va., in 1999. He was assigned to the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and its subcommittee on crime before serving under Marshall and Hutchinson.
Bryant returned to the DEA's Little Rock office in 2002 as an assistant special agent in charge. Since then, the DEA in Little Rock led investigations that dismantled major drug operations across the state including:
• A Kensett-based methamphetamine ring in which 20 people, including a Benton lawyer, a North Little Rock police officer and three Arkansas Lottery winners were indicted.
• A prescription-drug ring based in Little Rock in which pills were obtained through forged prescriptions, robbery and theft; 23 people were indicted.
• An operation in Austin in which a man regularly flew to Dallas to arrange the transportation of pounds of meth back into the state; 21 people were indicted.
• A meth-distribution outfit with ties to Mexican drug cartels in which 39 people in Jonesboro and Conway, many who were illegal aliens, were charged with drug and gun offenses.
Also during that time, state police and the DEA collaborated in an annual marijuana-eradication program. Across Arkansas in the summer, troopers and DEA agents searched for marijuana plots from the air using National Guard helicopters. Bryant has presented troopers with certificates of appreciation for their efforts.
In 2006, Bryant presented the agency with something more valuable -- a $312,180.35 check in seized drug profits.
The money came from a traffic stop in Fort Smith the previous year in which a trooper pulled over a drug suspect traveling with more than half a million dollars in cash.
The stop helped lead the DEA to a drug-trafficking organization, Bryant said.
Bryant retired from the DEA earlier this year.
As state police director, Bryant will lead 541 commissioned troopers and 422 civilian support personnel in five divisions: criminal investigations, highway patrol, crimes against children, regulatory and building operations, and administrative services.
The agency has a fleet of 835 vehicles and an operating budget of $139,539,250 this fiscal year.
Under Arkansas law, Bryant's salary will be $118,786.10, with a monthly expense allowance of $600.
In the news release issued Wednesday by Hutchinson, Bryant said he is "honored and grateful for this opportunity."
"I believe the knowledge I have gained over the course of my career in law enforcement has more than prepared me for this new role, and I look forward to serving Governor Hutchinson and the good people of Arkansas," he said.
The seven-member State Police Commission, an oversight body that will approve hiring and promotion recommendations by Bryant, had a say in his appointment to the agency. The governor appoints a state police director "after conferring with members of the Arkansas State Police Commission," according to state law.
Commission members Daniel "Woody" Futrell, Wallace Fowler and Lewis Shepherd did not respond to phone calls Wednesday seeking comment on Bryant's appointment.
In a statement released Tuesday, before Bryant's appointment, Witt called for state police employees to support Hutchinson and the agency's new director.
"Many people are counting on us to make the transition seamless and continue to build on the trusted reputation the Arkansas State Police has with the citizens of Arkansas," Witt said.
A section on 12/04/2014