Benton Police Chief Kirk Lane will step away from the department in August to serve as the new Arkansas drug director, according to a Wednesday announcement from Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Lane, who has been police chief since 2009, will assume the position left vacant by Denny Altes, who resigned as state drug director earlier this summer.
In the position, Lane will be chairman of the Arkansas Alcohol and Drug Abuse Coordinating Council and will be responsible for coordinating alcohol and drug abuse prevention initiatives, according to the state Department of Human Services.
With Lane's appointment, the position's responsibilities have been expanded within the Human Services Department, officials say.
Brandi Hinkle, spokesman for the department, said the position will now be part of the department director's executive team, and Lane will help craft a substance-abuse strategy that will coordinate resources from across the department.
"It's a big job," Lane said Wednesday. "There are a lot of facets to it, but I'm up to the challenge."
Lane's salary will be $108,110 in his new position. He received a base salary of $89,808 as Benton police chief. He will leave the Police Department on Aug. 6 and start as Arkansas' drug director the next day.
In a statement released Wednesday, Hutchinson said Lane is "well-equipped" to serve in the position considering his law enforcement experience and background with the FBI.
"Chief Lane is a dedicated leader who has been a valuable asset to several Arkansas drug and alcohol boards and programs," Hutchinson said in the statement. "I am confident that he will continue to do an outstanding job working to further alcohol- and drug-abuse prevention and treatment initiatives of our state."
Hutchinson spokesman J.R. Davis said the expanded role reflects Hutchinson's efforts to address substance abuse in Arkansas.
Before becoming Benton police chief in 2009, Lane spent more than 20 years with the Pulaski County sheriff's office. He began working for the sheriff's office in 1987, rising through the ranks to eventually become a captain in 2000, according to his resume.
During his time at the Pulaski County sheriff's office, Lane and a fellow law enforcement official sued a filmmaker for defamation over a 1996 documentary that accused them and other law enforcement officials of killing two Saline County teenagers in 1987 and covering it up.
The two teens were found dead on railroad tracks, and although their deaths were initially ruled accidental, a Saline County grand jury changed that ruling to probable homicide. No arrests have ever been made in the case, and it remains unsolved.
A federal jury ruled against the filmmaker in 1999 and awarded Lane and the other law enforcement official more than half a million dollars, according to media reports.
Lane has also been a member of the Arkansas Prescription Monitoring Program and the Arkansas Alcohol and Drug Abuse Coordinating Council.
Information for this article was provided by Linda Satter of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Metro on 07/13/2017