Fort Smith police officer cites fear, past treatment in report cover-up

FORT SMITH -- A police officer reported she went along with the falsification of an accident report out of fear of reprisal from her supervisor, according to Police Department records.

An officer backed a department vehicle into a dumpster on private property on Feb. 12. The accident report, however, was intentionally misdated Feb. 16, according to documents and audio and video files the department released last week related to an internal investigation into the matter.

The officer who reported the discrepancy received a written reprimand for not coming forward sooner. A second officer, who didn't come forward, was fired April 13. Sgt. John Blake Little, the supervisor who directed the false report to be made, resigned March 29 while under investigation, according to department spokesman Aric Mitchell.

Little said he wanted to keep the officer responsible for the accident -- Michael Dillon Coder -- from getting into too much trouble; Little also said he sought to keep himself out of trouble, according to an interview he had with the department's office of professional standards.

The falsified accident report lists Lauren Hendricks as the investigating officer. She was the one who reported the falsified report.

The identities of Hendricks and Coder, although redacted in the documents, can be heard in some of the audio and video files provided by the Police Department.

Hendricks' account

Hendricks filed two complaints with Police Chief Danny Baker on March 1 -- one alerting him to the falsified accident report and another in which she gave a scathing account of how Little treated her.

Hendricks reported she heard, but didn't see, Coder back his vehicle into a dumpster on Feb. 12 at 900 S. R St. during an ongoing police operation.

Hendricks wrote Little called her later that night and told her they were going to complete the accident report the following week because Coder "has a lot going on and has some stuff he might be in trouble for," with Little not wanting "to put that on him right now." He also told Hendricks to not tell anyone about the accident.

Little called Hendricks on Feb. 16 and told her to go to 900 S. R St. to complete the accident report, according to her complaint. Once there, Little said they were going to report the accident took place that day instead of Feb. 12; he also provided an alternate set of circumstances surrounding the accident including snow, which was present that day, according to the complaint. Hendricks reported while she had reservations about this, she feared retaliation from Little due to how he had treated her in the past. Little also told her not to list herself as a witness to the accident.

Hendricks asked Coder, who was involved in completing the report, why he was in trouble. He said he didn't know and he shouldn't have had "anything, punishment wise, coming down on him," according to the complaint.

Hendricks told Dewey Young, lieutenant over the Police Department's office of professional standards, during a March 3 interview she waited until March 1 to make her complaint to Baker because she knew Little would be off work and she wouldn't have to face Little immediately afterward.

Hendricks' other complaint outlined more than a dozen instances since April 2020 in which Hendricks claimed Little said and did things that made her cry and caused her to feel, among other things, "belittled" and "humiliated."

"I dread going into work while working under him," Hendricks wrote. "He has made my first K9 handling experience not enjoyable. He has now put me in a position where I fear going against him due to how he treats me when I am doing everything he says."

Little's account

Young presented Little with a notice of internal investigation and investigation warning March 8, according to Young's report. Little said Coder called him Feb. 12 about the accident and he responded they would take care of it later due to the operation taking place. He spoke with Coder afterward and told him they would deal with the accident Feb. 16, having also received a call about a stabbing he needed to go to.

Young wrote Little said he told Coder and Hendricks on Feb. 16 to complete the accident report as if it had happened that day.

After agreeing with Young the information on the reports was false, Little explained the accident was "the last thing" on his mind the day it happened because of the operation, adding he then received the stabbing call and everyone else had already been late getting off from work. He said he delayed completing the accident report because he thought the accident wasn't a big deal.

"I then explained that not completing the report before he went home Friday was understandable, but it was not understandable that he came back to work on Tuesday and made it seem like the accident actually happened on Tuesday and not Friday," Young wrote.

Young said he explained to Little it appeared as though Little decided to do this either to keep Coder out of trouble or keep himself out of trouble due to not following department policy and completing the report on time. Little responded Coder was going to have to answer for his accident regardless, but he didn't want Coder to "get into more trouble than what was necessary." He also said his desire to not get in trouble himself led to his decision to falsify the report date.

"He agreed that his job would not be in jeopardy if he had reported the incident accurately," Young wrote. "Sgt. Little then explained that he made a mistake and that he was not a 'liar'. I ultimately asked him if the only benefit to reporting the incident the way he did was to hide the fact that he waited four days to report it and he replied with 'yes.'"

Little also told Young neither Coder nor Hendricks objected when he told them to falsify the accident report.

The aftermath

Little was placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation of him, according to a March 5 notification to Little by Young. Little submitted his resignation letter March 29, in which he apologized "for any trouble or inconvenience I have brought upon the department."

Little wrote in a March 30 email to Baker his decision regarding the accident report was wrong and he took full responsibility for it; however, he denied he created a hostile work environment.

"I have always tried to be that leader that took care of those in which I was supervising and placed them above myself," Little wrote.

Baker, in a video message to the entire department April 14, said Hendricks did the right thing reporting the incident before it was discovered. He added he hoped each employee remains confident it's "OK to disobey an order that you believe to be illegal or unethical." Baker also said no department employee is expected to endure any kind of harassment from their coworkers.

Coder has appealed his termination to the Fort Smith Civil Service Commission. His hearing is set for June 21, according to Lindsey Kaelin, commission secretary.

Hendricks, through Mitchell, declined to comment. Additional requests for comment made to Little and Coder through social media received no response as of Friday.