On April 17, 2015 the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration was provided information regarding apparent violations of state laws, DFA and state ethical standards and law enforcement standards by the ABC Deputy Director Rick Crisman. Upon notification, DFA asked that we delay posting any information about Crisman's activities until the following Monday.
On April 20th we posted a story that detailed the illegal activity of the ABC Deputy Director Rick Crisman.
On May 5th, we discovered that Crisman was no longer listed as a DFA/ABC employee on the ABC web page, nor was he found in the state directory or the Transparency Arkansas web page.
That same day, a request was made to DFA/ABC for a copy of the required Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training, Personnel Change-In-Status Report, Form F-4 (Arkansas Code Annotated § 12-9-602 states "An employing agency shall immediately notify the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training in writing, on a form adopted by the commission, of the employment or appointment, or separation from employment or appointment, of any law enforcement officer").
The response from DFA/ABC was:
In other words, DFA/ABC was in violation of A.C.A. § 12-9-602 in that they failed to immediately send the required form to CLEST. So the lawyers at DFA and the Director of ABC, Bud Roberts (you will recall from earlier post's Bud is "exceptionally qualified" and has a "breadth of experience in Arkansas law" and "knowledge of issues related to ABC"), had no clue that this form was to be sent. If he did, did he have difficulty what immediately means?
So, on May 8th DFA/ABC sent this:
DFA/ABC did not provide the 5/6/15 form that was "unclear" so we have no idea what exactly the clerical error was (although it should have been provided pursuant to our FOIA request). Perhaps they back dated it to make it look like they followed the law. But what is clear is that DFA/ABC had no intention of sending the required form until a copy of it was requested by us. This is inexcusable and is clear evidence that Governor Hutchinson made a very poor choice in selecting Roberts to head the ABC.
On May 8th, DFA/ABC sent a copy of the form that they originally claimed was "not required". The form indicates that Crisman resigned the day after we posted the story about his misdeeds.
The form also indicates that DFA/ABC initiated an internal investigation
CLICK TO VIEW FULL CRISMAN CLEST FORM
Crisman's resignation ended the DFA/ABC internal investigation. A DFA source indicated that he was allowed to resign. DFA/ABC should have fired him or at least stated on the CLEST form what precipitated their internal investigation that led to his resignation. A.C.A. § 12-9-602 required DFA/ABC to provide details:
(2) Separation from employment or appointment includes any firing, termination, resignation,
retirement, or voluntary or involuntary extended leave of absence of any law enforcement
officer.
(b) (1) (A) In a case of separation from employment or appointment, the employing agency
shall execute and maintain an affidavit-of-separation form adopted by the commission, setting
forth in detail the facts and reasons for such separation.
This how is DFA/ABC set forth in detail the facts and reasons:
DFA/ABC willfully witheld information that could have shed light on why Crisman resigned. Their vacuous response is contrary to what A.C.A. § 12-9-602 requires; it requires details. Details are important because A.C.A. § 12-9-602 also states:
(3) Any law enforcement officer who has separated from employment or appointment must be
permitted to respond to the separation, in writing, to the commission, setting forth the facts and reasons for the separation as he or she understands them.
(c) (1) Before employing or appointing a law enforcement officer, a subsequent employing
agency must contact the commission to inquire as to the facts and reasons a law enforcement officer became separated from any previous employing agency.
(2) The commission shall, upon request and without prejudice, provide to the subsequent
employing agency all information that is required under subsections (a) and (b) of this section and that is in its possession.
CLICK TO VIEW A.C.A. § 12-9-602
DFA/ABC by not following the requirements of A.C.A. § 12-9-602 has done a great disservice to the citizens of Arkansas in that they are aiding and abetting Crisman in getting away with his violations of Arkansas laws. Crisman does not ever need to be involved in law enforcement in any shape or form, here in Arkansas or anywhere else.
By not firing Crisman, DFA/ABC also prevents us from finding out how much investigating they did and prevent release of their findings. Resignations are not considered terminations which would permit the release of employee evaluations or job performance records. One word sums up the actions of DFA/ABC - disgraceful.
On May 5th, we discovered that Crisman was no longer listed as a DFA/ABC employee on the ABC web page, nor was he found in the state directory or the Transparency Arkansas web page.
That same day, a request was made to DFA/ABC for a copy of the required Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training, Personnel Change-In-Status Report, Form F-4 (Arkansas Code Annotated § 12-9-602 states "An employing agency shall immediately notify the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training in writing, on a form adopted by the commission, of the employment or appointment, or separation from employment or appointment, of any law enforcement officer").
The response from DFA/ABC was:
In other words, DFA/ABC was in violation of A.C.A. § 12-9-602 in that they failed to immediately send the required form to CLEST. So the lawyers at DFA and the Director of ABC, Bud Roberts (you will recall from earlier post's Bud is "exceptionally qualified" and has a "breadth of experience in Arkansas law" and "knowledge of issues related to ABC"), had no clue that this form was to be sent. If he did, did he have difficulty what immediately means?
So, on May 8th DFA/ABC sent this:
DFA/ABC did not provide the 5/6/15 form that was "unclear" so we have no idea what exactly the clerical error was (although it should have been provided pursuant to our FOIA request). Perhaps they back dated it to make it look like they followed the law. But what is clear is that DFA/ABC had no intention of sending the required form until a copy of it was requested by us. This is inexcusable and is clear evidence that Governor Hutchinson made a very poor choice in selecting Roberts to head the ABC.
On May 8th, DFA/ABC sent a copy of the form that they originally claimed was "not required". The form indicates that Crisman resigned the day after we posted the story about his misdeeds.
CLICK TO VIEW FULL CRISMAN CLEST FORM
Crisman's resignation ended the DFA/ABC internal investigation. A DFA source indicated that he was allowed to resign. DFA/ABC should have fired him or at least stated on the CLEST form what precipitated their internal investigation that led to his resignation. A.C.A. § 12-9-602 required DFA/ABC to provide details:
(2) Separation from employment or appointment includes any firing, termination, resignation,
retirement, or voluntary or involuntary extended leave of absence of any law enforcement
officer.
(b) (1) (A) In a case of separation from employment or appointment, the employing agency
shall execute and maintain an affidavit-of-separation form adopted by the commission, setting
forth in detail the facts and reasons for such separation.
This how is DFA/ABC set forth in detail the facts and reasons:
DFA/ABC willfully witheld information that could have shed light on why Crisman resigned. Their vacuous response is contrary to what A.C.A. § 12-9-602 requires; it requires details. Details are important because A.C.A. § 12-9-602 also states:
(3) Any law enforcement officer who has separated from employment or appointment must be
permitted to respond to the separation, in writing, to the commission, setting forth the facts and reasons for the separation as he or she understands them.
(c) (1) Before employing or appointing a law enforcement officer, a subsequent employing
agency must contact the commission to inquire as to the facts and reasons a law enforcement officer became separated from any previous employing agency.
(2) The commission shall, upon request and without prejudice, provide to the subsequent
employing agency all information that is required under subsections (a) and (b) of this section and that is in its possession.
CLICK TO VIEW A.C.A. § 12-9-602
DFA/ABC by not following the requirements of A.C.A. § 12-9-602 has done a great disservice to the citizens of Arkansas in that they are aiding and abetting Crisman in getting away with his violations of Arkansas laws. Crisman does not ever need to be involved in law enforcement in any shape or form, here in Arkansas or anywhere else.
By not firing Crisman, DFA/ABC also prevents us from finding out how much investigating they did and prevent release of their findings. Resignations are not considered terminations which would permit the release of employee evaluations or job performance records. One word sums up the actions of DFA/ABC - disgraceful.