LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Mike Beebe considers state Surgeon General Joe Thompson’s recent confrontation with police a personal matter and will not discipline the health officer, the governor’s spokesman said Wednesday.
Beebe came to his decision after reviewing audio and video of the encounter that led to Thompson’s arrest on misdemeanor charges, spokesman Matt DeCample said.
“They talked and … from our end the governor considers the matter resolved,” DeCample said. “He is the surgeon general and will remain so.”
Thompson, 49, was arrested March 31 after what began as a confrontation with a private security guard outside his home escalated into a shouting match with two police officers called to Thompson’s residence in the upscale Heights neighborhood of Little Rock.
Thompson is set for trial May 30. DeCample said Beebe questioned whether the altercation warranted Thompson being taken into custody.
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The governor “felt that Joe could have conducted himself better at the outset,” DeCample said. “He also, based on what he has seen, is not sure that he should have ever been arrested.”
Regardless of the trial’s outcome, DeCample said, the governor sees the incident as a “personal matter” that occurred at Thompson’s home involving the police and security guard and had nothing to do with his performance as the state’s health officer.
A police report described Thompson as having a “strong odor of alcohol” and “swaying” during the encounter. It said Thompson became combative at one point, yelled at officers that he was Arkansas’ surgeon general, refused to comply with their requests for information and eventually had to be wrestled to the ground and handcuffed.
Thompson was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, attempt to influence a public servant and use of force. He was released from jail the following morning after posting a $2,000 bond.
Last week, the Little Rock Police Department released copies of the video and audio recordings taken as officers responded to the disturbance call.
In the tapes, recorded from a dashboard camcorder in a police cruiser and microphones worn by the officers, Thompson can be heard trying to tell the officers his concern about the security guard. At one point, an officer asks Thompson to step outside his house to talk, but Thompson declines and says, “this is my house and I have done nothing wrong.” He also complains when an officer shines a flashlight on him.
An officer tells Thompson that the flashlight is being pointed at him so he can see his face and tells Thompson, “If I think you are a threat, then I will handle it.”
Thompson then tells the officer that he is the surgeon general of Arkansas.
Thompson begins yelling and when he refuses to stop, the officer tells him he is under arrest for disorderly conduct.
The police report said Thompson resisted when being handcuffed and was wrestled to the ground.
Last week, Thompson admitted he “probably didn’t do my best to de-escalate that situation” and said the audio and video are “a more accurate portrayal of my experience that night.”