PINE BLUFF--New information about the validity of medals given to 12 members of the Pine Bluff tactical team in the killing of a 107-year-old man in 2013 came to light at an emotionally charged City Council meeting Monday.
Alderman George Stepps presented the section of Pine Bluff Police Department's Policy and Procedures Manual that says recommendations for the medal of valor are to first go before an awards committee, and the medals are to be accompanied by a certificate signed by the mayor.
Some on the council said they do not think those requirements were met, and Stepps asked Mayor Debe Hollingsworth if she had known about the medals being awarded or signed the certificates. She shook her head no.
Alderman Thelma Walker has been leading the charge to make the officers turn in the medals of valor awarded after the fatal shooting of Monroe Isadore, and she was the sponsor of a resolution passed at the July 5 meeting demanding that the medals be returned.
Isadore was killed by police during a standoff Sept. 7, 2013, at a residence where he rented a room. When a relative came to move him into an apartment, Isadore refused to leave and pointed a pistol at the homeowner, according to police.
Walker asked what the mayor planned to do about Police Chief Jeff Hubanks, who apparently did not take the required steps before awarding the medals.
"I'll get with him," Hollingsworth said. "I'll get with him."
While numerous police officers attended the meeting and stood at the back of the room, Hubanks was not there. The only person to speak for the police at the meeting was attorney Lee Short, who told the council he had been retained by the Police Benevolent Association and was representing officers who were awarded the medals. Short told the council that the No. 1 goal was to avoid litigation.
Short reminded the council and those in the audience that the federal lawsuit filed in September 2014 against the city, Hubanks and Sgt. Brad Vilches, who shot Isadore, was dismissed in a summary judgment. Before that an investigation by special prosecutor Jason Barrett of Little Rock concluded that officers acted within the scope of their job when they returned fire in Isadore's direction and killed him.
Short also told the council that the resolution passed last month isn't enough to force the officers to return the medals.
"The resolution is not law and cannot mandate the officers to do anything," Short said.
Later in the meeting after Stepps had presented the police manual's requirements for awarding medals, Alderman Glen Brown Sr. demanded that the council vote on the medals as not being valid. However, City Attorney Althea Hadden Scott said the vote would be a duplication of the resolution the council had approved last month.
Walker said she took issue with being told the vote would be a duplication and also being told resolutions do not carry the weight of law.
"We are always spending millions of dollars in resolutions and no one ever said they are invalid," Walker said. "I think the mayor and Hubanks placed themselves above the law and I want to call upon all council members to be responsible to our citizens and know what is needed to be done."
The council also had a first reading of an ordinance that calls for the Jefferson County prosecuting attorney to file charges of malfeasance or nonfeasance against Hollingsworth for not following the stated policy for issuing medals.
Sam Whitfield, who was with a group that protested the medals before the council meeting began, showed everyone his handwritten poster that read, "Take back the damn medals," before addressing the council during the public comment portion of the meeting.
"The council needs to fire Hubanks. No one should get medals for killing a man," Whitfield said. "I was in the military for 15 years and no one ever got them for that."
State Desk on 08/02/2016