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Policeman fired for alleged dishonesty |
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Tuesday, 24 June 2008 |
A six-year Benton police officer has been terminated for allegedly falsifying a report and being dishonest.
Former narcotics Officer Lantz Smith, 33, said Monday that he disagrees with Interim Police Chief Roger Gaither’s decision to terminate him, and Smith said he plans to appeal to the Civil Service Commission.
Smith was terminated Friday. He said he was given the opportunity to resign but opted for termination so that he could appeal the decision.
Gaither is on vacation this week. Mayor Rick Holland and attorney George D. “Bucky” Ellis, who represents the chief and police department, spoke on behalf of the city.
“The Benton Police Department had an internal complaint on this former officer, and as a result of that investigation, he was terminated,” Holland said, adding that Smith has 10 days to appeal to the Civil Service Commission.
A recent internal investigation by the police department resulted in the demotion of an officer but not a termination.
Ellis, in comparing that incident to Smith’s termination, said the “acting chief is on vacation, but as I understand it, in reaching his decision he distinguished between the two cases because the other case involving a female officer had to do with personal and private conduct, and this case had to do with issues of honesty in Mr. Smith’s official capacity as an officer during the course of an arrest and its aftermath.”
After a pre-disciplinary hearing on June 17, it was decided that Smith violated two policies of the department’s policy and procedures handbook and one from the Uniform Standards of Conduct.
The termination letter, dated June 20, states that Smith lied on May 31 in a phone conversation to Lt. Scotty Hodges concerning the facts of Smith’s involvement in a drug arrest by Officer Hunter Begoon.
“You led Lt. Hodges to believe that you were called out to assist Officer Begoon in his arrest when you were actually present in the patrol vehicle with Officer Begoon at the time of the initial traffic stop of the individual,” the letter states.
The letter further states that about an hour later, Smith asked Begoon to write in his report that Smith was not in the vehicle at the time of the stop and that he had called Smith and Smith had responded to the scene. Smith reportedly had been told by Hodges and Sgt. Hanley Taylor, both supervisors of Smith, not to ride with officers on his days off.
Gaither contends in the letter that Smith lied again on June 2 and 3 about the incident with Begoon, both verbally and in writing.
“When a police officer lies, it violates the core values of honesty and truthfulness that police officers must value and protect in order to maintain the public trust,” the letter states. ... “After much consideration and after reviewing your entire personnel file as well as deactivated disciplinary actions, I have decided to terminate ‘with fault’ your employment as a police officer with the city of Benton effective immediately.”
Smith said he plans to present his side of the story and outline the reasons he thinks the decision should be reversed during the hearing before the Civil Service Commission. He is being represented by Little Rock attorney Robert Newcomb.
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