We applaud interim Police Chief Lloyd Franklin for following through on his commitment to transfer his liquor license to the 410 Lounge to another person.
As it stands, he has filed the appropriate paperwork, and the person he has named to be the new license holder, Michael Lee Curry, has also submitted an application to the state Alcoholic Beverage Control to take on that new responsibility.
As Mayor Shirley Washington said a couple of months ago, having the police chief hold a liquor license is just a bad look. She then asked him to get rid of the license, he said he would, and now he is going through with the process.
A spokesman with the ABC said it would appear that Curry will be approved for the transfer, although the ABC director has to make a recommendation and the ABC board will either accept or reject her recommendation.
We could understand if Franklin is less than happy with how all this has turned out. He was retired from a lifetime career of working for the state police, where he earned high praise. Then, as he tells it, he and other members of his family put together a business group to own and operate the 410 Lounge, where there is live music, dancing and food served and where there are receptions and other events held.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Then along came the request to fill in the gap for the city as interim police chief. That would not have happened had the city been able to hire its top candidate for the job. But once that opportunity passed, the mayor decided she wanted a fill-in chief until the City Council raises the pay for the chief position, and a new search can be started, perhaps as early as January.
So at some point, Franklin will go back to being a retired law officer and resume his normal activities. In the meantime, he is neutralizing one bit of potential controversy, that being a conflict of interest in both holding a liquor license for a club and being the person responsible for police activities across Pine Bluff, which, of course, includes the club.
The situation is not perfect, and a permanent police chief would doubtless want to avoid being in a close business association with an establishment that serves alcohol. But Franklin is not permanent and, surely, in a few months, Pine Bluff will have someone who is.