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| CHIEF KENTON TREMAR BUCKNER AND HIS TOADY, CITY MANAGER BRUCE MOORE |
We have previously posted about City Manager Bruce Moore sending out a defamatory email about renowned activist Reverend Benny Johnson of Arkansas Stop the Violence (you can view that post by clicking here) and his refusal to make a public apology when we pointed out that what he said in that email was a lie.
You can add to his list of colossal screw-ups another email in which he stated that the shooter in the Power Lounge mass shooting was the rapper that was performing.
An article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette back in July pointed out that this was not factual and Moore told them that he based that statement on what individuals that were in the club that night called and told him. Funny that Moore did not let his buddy Buckner know about these alleged witnesses as LRPD bemoaned the fact that no one was coming forward.
Then you have Moore's blatant lie that the $5000 signing bonus given to successful LRPD cadets is not a signing bonus at all, despite video recorded news reports in which he specifically calls the $5000 payment a signing bonus (you can read out post about that by clicking here).
Moore's lack of fiduciary responsibility by giving a $5000k no-strings-attached bonus resulted in two officers taking the money and quitting. One after three months on the job and the other after six months.
Moore has refused to answer questions we put to him about the signing bonus program (you can read about that by clicking here).
Where do we begin about Chief Kenton Tremar Buckner. The list for him grows each day.
He lost a city issued handgun and still can't explain how that happened.
Buckner demanded that the Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission give him a letter grade on his performance as chief after a year on the job. They did and it was an "F" (you can see their letter and score sheet to Buckner in this post). The two high marks he received were for attending meetings - we suspect a meal was involved - giving away turkeys at Thanksgiving, and using social media - to post where he ate a meal or went to church. He failed on every aspect that involved planning and administrative functions. No surprise there.
At a board meeting on June 15, 2015, Buckner got upset when directors questioned his dismantling the COP program. Moore had to intercede to keep Buckner from tongue-lashing directors. He said that the directors asking him those kinds of questions was "dangerous."
Back in April at a special called meeting he blamed bad parenting for the problem. Yet he stated that he refused to have his officers cite juveniles for violating the juvenile curfew.
One way to get parents involved is to use that curfew to force them to become involved with their kids. Those parents would have to show up in court and answer questions as to why their kids were violating the curfew.
It is not his place to decide which laws to enforce. In fact that violates city ordinances and LRPD policy.
Speaking of not enforcing laws, remember our post about LRPD officers not getting tickets for causing traffic accidents on or off duty? You can read about those shenanigans by clicking here.
Back to our list....
The Little Rock Black Police Officers Association filed a formal complaint about him with the Little Rock Board of Directors in July 2017 (you can see their letter by clicking here).
Around the same time that the complaint about him was made to the LRBOD, Buckner was feeling the heat from all the violence in the city.
Governor Asa Hutchinson held a press conference and stated that he was directing the State Police to help keep the streets of Little Rock safe and forming a task force.
Buckner was miffed about having the board ask him about getting help at that Special Called Meeting back in April and he refused to be a part of the Governor's press conference. Later when he caught flack he said he was a funeral.
Director Lance Hines asked Buckner at the July 5, 2017 board meeting about getting help from the ASP patrolling areas of the city. Buckner rejected that idea.
What Buckner did not tell the board was that he had already asked the State Police for help. Why he did not tell that to the board and was being so deceptive is something he needs to explain.
Another strike against Buckner's credibility is what he stated at a Town Hall meeting back in September.
The publisher of this blog asked him about the targeting of the homeless population in the city, especially just a few blocks west of his office when all the complaint were not substantiated.
Buckner proceeded to list several of the alleged activities that Michelle Hastings had emailed to him and city hall leadership.
The publisher of this blog interrupted him and stated that incidents that he had just related had been proved to be unfounded.
Buckner questioned how the publisher was able to state that the complaints were not valid. The publisher stated that he could make that statement as the information that LRPD had provided to him in a FOI response about the complaints specifically concluded that majority of the complaint were unfounded or not police department issues.
Buckner has fought and tried to not provide information just about every time we have submitted a FOI request to him and LRPD for documents. You can read about that by clicking here, here and here.
We are at a crossroads here in Little Rock. We have the opportunity to clean house next year by electing a new mayor and board members. The problem of Moore and Buckner should be on the top of their action list.
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