Little Rock mayor Frank Scott, Jr. touts that Little Rock is a safe city and crime is down. Yet he spends around $300,000 or more on two Little Rock cops, Larry McDonald and Justin Taynor, to shuttle him to public and private appearances in a SUV rented out to LRPD.
If Little Rock is safe, why does he need LRPD chauffers and bodyguards?
Sworn statements of McDonald, Taynor and Scott (along with their supervisor Lt. Dana Jackson) obtained from a state government proceeding in 2023, provide details about the mayor's fears of appearing at events in Little Rock without police protection.
McDonald told state investigators that the mayor is picked up at his house in a unmarked SUV every day that is rented by LRPD and driven to city hall or to another location where he might have a meeting. McDonald said he has a portable blue light that can be used if necessary. The mayor is taken to events, meetings, dental appointments, lunches, dinners and other events by himself or Taynor and driven back to his home at the end of the day.
McDonald stated that the mayor needs protection to assist in diffusing situations and because Arkansas is an open carry state. McDonald told investigators that he was convinced that the mayor needs a protection detail to remain safe in Little Rock.
Taynor told state investigators that mayor Scott is driven from home to work by the LRPD security detail. Taynor stated they drive the mayor everywhere, even for personal events and errands.
Taynor told the state investigators that the mayor needs protection because he has national exposure, does TV interviews, and has his picture in the LR airport.
Taynor stated that people in Little Rock have been hostile towards the mayor. One example he gave was that Mayor Scott has tried to engage with an "unsheltered person" and they got rather hostile. Other times individuals have seen the mayor and yelled "Fuck You Frank Scott" (SMG note - protected free speech) and that these incidents could turn violent.
Scott told state investigators that he was told he needed a LRPD security detail for protection, safety and transportation in Little Rock and he agreed.
Scott stated that he owns a vehicle (SMG note - he gets $700 a month from the city for personal vehicle use) but never drives it as LRPD takes him everywhere he needs to go and he was not aware of any place he goes that LRPD doesn't provide transportation. They take him to lunch, even if the lunch is with a friend. At the end of a workday, they might take him home where he gets ready for a social dinner and then they get him there and back home for the night afterwards.
Scott told investigators that he thought his LRPD detail was necessary because he feels safer with them as sometimes, he has experiences in Little Rock in which he feels threatened or he is in a threatening environment.
Scott said he was aware that there were many rumors, as well as legitimate threats made on his life, "flying around" after he was re-elected and he has concerns for his safety.
Scott showed investigators a letter he had received.
(SMG note - the letter writer appears to be referencing the War Memorial golf course being shut down by Scott and the 9-hole golf course Warren Stephens had built and later gave the city kept open)
Scott stated the presence of the LRPD detail gives him confidence that he is safe and not in any sort of jeopardy.
LRPD Lt. Dana Jackson, who supervises the LRPD Vice Squad, the LRPD Gun Unit, and the LRPD Intelligence Unit (where the protection detail falls) told state investigators that officers assigned to the Scott Protection Detail had a day-long Secret Service familiarization with basic VIP type protection details.
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| Lt. Dana Jackson |
Jackson stated that Scott needs protection in Little Rock every time he leaves home because he might be in route to an event and roll through a shooting or some type of crime or be involved in an accident.
The Little Rock mayor being afraid to go out in Little Rock without armed police protection shows just how dangerous Little Rock really is in spite of the propaganda he and his police department spew out.
As of the publication of this story, there have been 40 homicides in the city of Little Rock.
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| tinyurl.com/LRHomicides24 |
Little Rock is a dangerous city and the feckless mayor and LRPD have done little to actually make it safer in spite of the millions of dollars the city board gives LRPD each year.
It's time to hold the mayor and LRPD accountable.
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Note: Normally we would post the records we obtained and used for this story. They will be included in related exposé next week.
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We have made several Freedom of Information requests to the city of Little Rock and LRPD since Feckless Frank was first elected about threats made against him/ Those requests did not produce any actual records, except the letter about the closing of War Memorial golf course. The record obtained from a state agency used in the post made reference to BOLO. Turns out the only documented threats being made to the feckless Little Rock Mayor came from a black man and not the klan.
