The Conway Police Department on Wednesday released the incident report on the arrests of three Black Lives Matter protesters who were forcibly taken down from an elevated masonry sign in front of the department Monday morning.
According to a social-media post by the grassroots group Reinvest In Conway, the three were protesting the juvenile court-ordered mentoring of a young Black boy by a Conway police officer who was present during the February arrest of suspected shoplifter Lionel Morris.
Morris, a Black man from Conway, died in police custody. In late July, the 20th Judicial Circuit's prosecuting attorney determined there was no evidence of criminal wrongdoing by police officers in Morris' death, which was investigated by the Arkansas State Police.
The protest group has been involved in a handful of protests since Morris' death, including Aug. 25 in front of Conway City Hall, where protesters demanded that they be placed on the council agenda to request a town hall meeting to discuss race issues. Conway Mayor Bart Castleberry has continually denied the group's request.
City spokesman Bobby Kelly said Wednesday that neither the protests nor the recent arrests have changed the mayor's mind.
"City Council meetings are for conducting city business," Kelly said.
Portia Davis, 40; Brookelynn Mason, 28; and Gary Adams, 41; all of Conway, were arrested Monday and charged with obstructing governmental operations and criminal trespass. Davis also was charged with disorderly conduct.
They were taken to the Faulkner County jail, but were cited and released because of overcrowding, according to the report.
Conway police officer Angelina Loeschner said in the report that she arrived at the police station to find Davis and Mason standing on top of the brick and concrete sign. Other protesters stood in the landscaping encircling the sign.
Davis had a loud speaker and yelled obscenities about the police, Loeschner said.
The officer asked the women "numerous times" to get down from the sign, but they refused and became argumentative.
"I advised them that they could continue to protest, but they needed to get down and move to the sidewalks," Loeschner said in the report.
Davis continued to scream obscenities into the loud speaker, the report said.
After Loeschner issued her "final warning," some protesters moved to the sidewalk, but Davis and Mason remained on top of the sign and Adams leaned against it beneath them.
When Loeschner grabbed Davis' arm to pull her down from the sign, Adams intervened and Mason grasped Davis' arm to keep Loeschner from gaining control, according to the report.
Adams continued to physically intervene to prevent the two women from being removed from the sign, Loeschner said.
Officer Rick Shumate grabbed Adams and "took him down." Davis and Mason then climbed down from the sign.
Davis and Mason held on to each other to avoid being arrested, but were eventually handcuffed. As Davis was being led into the police station, she refused to walk. Loeschner said she had to "push and pull [Davis] intermittently" to get the protester up the stairs.
In a video of the arrest posted on the group's social-media page, a male officer can be seen pulling Adams down onto a metal bench, momentarily placing him in a chokehold.
"Let us be clear," the group said in a post with the video. "There is no justification for this kind of force for standing on a sign that is a foot off the ground. The Conway Police Department was solely exercising their power and authority over peaceful protesters. This is intimidation. Not public safety. This is reflective of a culture that values police over individual lives and the First Amendment."
Conway Police Patrol Maj. Lee Wood said Wednesday the three charged this week were not arrested just for "being on a sign without a warning."
"They were asked multiple times to get down. Once they were advised they couldn't be there and refused to get down is when it became criminal trespass," Wood said. "They weren't on the sidewalk or steps which is a public area. Our building is technically city property, but citizens can't get on top of it, our sign, or fence etc. The public can't enter all parts of our building either even though it is city property."
The 3-feet-high wall is right next to the sidewalk with metal benches in front of it.
Reinvest in Conway is demanding changes in how the city disburses funds for law enforcement. A proposal submitted to Castleberry with the request to be placed on the agenda asks that the police budget be frozen for three years. The group asked for more mental health services, establishing a cultural arts center, providing substance abuse prevention programs and investing in job training programs. The group also seeks changes such as banning chokeholds and riot gear.
Kelly said Wednesday that Castleberry and other city administrators have met with "multiple community organizations and groups on several occasions" through video conferencing calls and in-person meetings to discuss community concerns.
"We will continue to listen to the community and hear their concerns. In regard to the group protesting at the Conway Police Department, they have met with the mayor, city attorney, and multiple members of the City Council. They have an open invitation to come by the city attorney's office at any time. They have been heard," Kelly said. "They assume we're doing nothing. They're wrong. We're just moving slower than they'd like."