BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials have decided there will be no county hearing on complaints made against Sheriff Kelley Cradduck by a jail employee.
Lt. Robin Holt filed a grievance with the county Tuesday against Cradduck, claiming Cradduck has threatened and retaliated against her and other employees who cooperated with an Arkansas State Police investigation of the sheriff. The grievance says Cradduck has "created a hostile work environment" and that his actions are in violation of the Arkansas Whistle-Blower Act.
County Attorney George Spence sent a letter Friday to Don and Susan Kendall, attorneys for Holt, informing them of the decision not to hold a hearing on Holt's complaint. Spence said the decentralized nature of county government in Arkansas, where the authority of the Quorum Court is largely limited to budget issues, makes the grievance council an advisory body and leaves elected officials "not subject to any authority other than the voters at the biennial elections."
Spence said that Holt's complaints were "troubling" and might be addressed by private employers and in some governmental contexts.
"However, in those situations, the employer would have the ability to punish an offending supervisor which, as I indicated, I think the Grievance Council and Quorum Court are unable to do," Spence said.
Holt and Capt. Jeremy Guyll, both jail employees, filed grievances with Benton County in October. The two said they had been demoted by Cradduck after they cooperated with an Arkansas State Police investigation. Police have confirmed they are investigating allegations that Cradduck ordered payroll records for jail deputy Gabriel Cox altered to show an earlier hire date. Cradduck has denied he ordered the records to be falsified.
Cox was fired earlier this month after he was arrested by Rogers police on misdemeanor drug charges.
Jason Barrett, a special prosecutor named to oversee the investigation, declined to comment on Cradduck's case and the investigation Wednesday.
The county's Grievance Council, composed of five justices of the peace, recommended Guyll and Holt be reinstated after hearing their complaints in November. Cradduck didn't attend or participate in the hearings. He did reinstate Guyll and Holt.
Cradduck said Friday, as he has before, that the grievances are politically motivated.
"I reinstated them to show solidarity between the sheriff's office and the Quorum Court, even though I disagreed with their decision," Cradduck said.
Cradduck said the complaint mischaracterizes what happened at a recent meeting he had with the jail staff, including Holt. Cradduck said he told Holt that she had the type of personality that can bring the people working in the jail together, and he asked for her help in doing that.
"I have treated them with respect and dignity," he said. "This is a very petty issue, and I'm so taken aback by the complaint because all I did was compliment her. Hopefully people will see this for what it is -- dirty politics -- and we can get back to the business of keeping Benton County safe."
Don Kendall said Friday afternoon that he was not surprised by the decision not to hold a hearing on the grievance. He said he will consider other options for Holt but couldn't say what those options might be.
"It's not surprising because of the fact, fortunate or unfortunate, that the Quorum Court has no control over the sheriff," Kendall said.
Michelle Chiocco, justice of the peace for District 10 and head of the Grievance Council, said the council was unable to act because of the nature of Holt's complaints in the grievance filed Tuesday. In the first grievance, Chiocco said, Holt and Guyll showed concrete evidence of loss through their demotions. Holt's second complaint, she said, is more subjective.
"There's been no real adverse reaction to her job, per se," Chiocco said. "She hasn't been fired or demoted or anything similar to that, so we're very limited in what we can do. We can say 'Sheriff, be nice,' but that's about all we can do."
State Desk on 01/17/2016