The Pine Bluff City Council will consider a proposal Monday that would express “no confidence” in Police Chief Brenda Davis-Jones and urge the mayor to replace her.
The city council meets at 5:30 p.m. Monday in council chambers at the civic complex. The Public Safety Committee meets at 4 p.m. in council chambers and the Ways and Means and Ordinances and Resolutions committees meet at 5 p.m. in the conference room adjoining council chambers.
The proposed resolution, which is sponsored by Alderman Thelma Walker, states that there continues to be a state of “unrest, dissatisfaction and disgruntlement with the current leadership of the department” within the police department.
The resolution states that the atmosphere is resulting in turnover and resignations, the city cannot afford to lose experienced and qualified officers and doing so increases the risk to the public. It states that the turmoil is damaging public confidence in the department and the city’s image.
The proposed resolution states that there is an appearance of favoritism and retaliation by the current leadership. It states that there is a lack of openness with the public and City Council on the part of leadership.
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A professional organization with a membership that includes the majority of police department uniformed employees already voted earlier this year to express no confidence in the chief for what representatives said they view as arbitrary disciplinary practices and inconsistencies in implementing departmental policy. The Arkansas Division of the Police Benevolent Association announced the result of the vote in early March.
A similar proposal to the one that will be considered by the council on Monday also came before them in mid-March but failed in a tied 4-4 vote. However, two of the aldermen who voted against the no-confidence vote at the time — Alderman Irene Holcomb and George Stepps — warned Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr. they expected him to address the mounting displeasure with Davis-Jones’ leadership and questions that remain unanswered about allegations made against her publicly by the assistant police chief in February.
Assistant Chief Ivan Whitfield alleged in a letter from his lawyers to aldermen and other city officials in February that Davis-Jones fired him in retaliation for refusing to identify a source who had provided him with information that reflected poorly on her alleged boyfriend. Whitfield further alleged that Davis-Jones used her power to take care of a situation in which the boyfriend was drinking, was driving her vehicle on a suspended license and was about to be arrested. Whitfield was later reinstated by the council.
Both Davis-Jones and Redus have said the allegations are not true.
Since then, attempts by Alderman Bill Brumett to obtain more detail from Davis-Jones or Redus about the administration’s response to the allegations have been unsuccessful. Brumett has asked for the information publicly during council meetings, filed a Freedom of Information Act request and appealed to Redus as a council member trying to provide information to the public that he represents.
In the city’s response to Brumett’s FOI request, they stated that there were no written documents related to the allegations against the chief. Brumett has since questioned Redus about the allegations during council meetings, and Redus has said he would not comment and that Brumett should speak with the city’s legal representatives.
Brumett said Thursday that he has spoken with a Municipal League attorney who represents the city who advised him that Redus and Davis-Jones do not have to answer his questions and the allegations.
Davis-Jones has also told Brumett publicly that she would send him a written response to the allegations, but has not done so.
At one point, Redus said the allegations against the chief had been investigated as part of an internal affairs investigation. Brumett submitted an FOI request for that report and discovered that there was not one.
Redus later said he might have misspoken, but the allegations were investigated and found to be false. Asked by The Commercial what kind of investigation he meant, Redus said that he, an attorney with the Arkansas Municipal League and Deputy Chief Kelvin Sergeant discussed the allegations, which he said were found to be unfounded and not worthy of an internal affairs investigation.
Davis-Jones has said publicly that the allegations against her were investigated as part of the internal affairs investigation into Whitfield.