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Commission upholds firing of Officer Lantz Smith |
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Thursday, 21 August 2008 |
Was fired after inquiry showed he was dishonest about arrest
A group of Benton police officers and department employees were unable to hide expressions of disbelief Wednesday night after the Benton Civil Service Commission voted to uphold the termination of Officer Lantz Smith.
Smith, 33, was fired in June following an internal investigation that revealed Smith was dishonest about his role in a drug arrest made by Officer Hunter Begoon.
A review board, which did not have access to all of the information in Smith’s personnel file, had recommended a one-day suspension as punishment.
The commission, chaired by Sid Emmons, made its decision following seven hours of testimony in the council chambers at Benton Municipal Complex.
Emmons said the commission found that Smith “lied and acted to support that lie, which is damaging to the police department.”
However, the commission said equitable punishment was not carried out because Begoon only received a written reprimand. The commission recommended that an equitable level of disciplinary action be taken in the future.
Four of the five commissioners voted to uphold the termination. Rebecca Brown, who was substituting for Sam “Pokey” Gipson, voted for a lesser punishment.
Other commissioners are Frank Baptist, Cheryl Childs and Robert Balentine.
Smith, who is fluent in Spanish, served six years as a narcotics and patrol officer. After a pre-disciplinary hearing on June 17, it was decided that Smith violated policies and conducts of the police department by lying to his superior, Lt. Scotty Hodges, in a telephone conversation concerning the facts of Smith’s involvement in the May 31 drug arrest by Begoon.
During testimony Wednesday in his appeal hearing, Smith said he lied to his superior for fear of getting in trouble. He said he had been warned by Hodges and another superior, Sgt. Hanley Taylor, not to ride with officers during his off time.
Smith was represented by Little Rock attorney Robert Newcomb.
On the night of May 31, Smith had been working at the Fraternal Order of Police office in Downtown Benton. He said he called Begoon to come by and see the improvements Smith had made to the office. Once there, Begoon asked Smith if there was any area Begoon might check while on patrol that night, which was a common occurrence, Begoon testified.
Smith tried to explain a location to Begoon but there was confusion, so Smith told Begoon he would ride with him in the patrol car and show him the location. Smith said that being an undercover officer, it was a common practice to ride with officers.
On the way to the location, Begoon was dispatched to a disturbance, which turned out to be nothing of consequence. The two officers then headed for the location. They looped through a portion of the Ralph Bunche community, where they saw a car pull out of a residence known to police as a drug house, according to testimony.
The car then drove on the wrong side of the road, giving Begoon reasonable cause to initiate a traffic stop. A drug arrest followed while Smith sat in the patrol car. Smith was asked to assist when officers decided to impound the suspect’s vehicle. Begoon said he had a good working relationship with Smith and he would have called Smith anyway to handle the asset forfeiture.
When Smith called Hodges to report in, he told Hodges that Begoon had called him to the scene rather than saying he was riding in the car with Begoon. Hodges questioned how Smith was able to get from the FOP office to the arrest location so quickly.
The following Monday, Hodges called Smith into his office and Smith admitted that he was in the car with Begoon and not called out as previously indicated. Smith said he asked Begoon to write that Begoon made contact with him for fear of reprimand.
Begoon said Smith didn’t give him a reason for the request and Begoon didn’t ask. Interim Police Chief Roger Gaither said he only gave Begoon a reprimand because he is “a young and impressionable officer who looked up to Smith.”
Smith said he apologized to Hodges. “I’ve never been known as a liar, so this bothers me,” he said.
Gaither, who was represented by Benton attorney George “Bucky” Ellis, said Smith had been told not to ride with officers on his off time because he was working too much. He said Smith was told that he needed “to turn if off” sometimes and “go home, be with your family.”
Hanley testified that undercover officers were told to limit their “ride alongs” in patrol cars.
However, Hanley said when Smith initially told him of the drug arrest, it didn’t matter how Smith got there. He was more concerned with the paperwork. When Smith told Hanley that he lied, Hanley said Smith told him he did it because he was afraid of getting in trouble.
Ellis contended throughout the hearing that because the police report and Smith’s supplemental report were inaccurate, it could affect the drug case if it ever came to trial.
Hanley said he did not think the inaccuracy about how Smith got to the scene would affect the reasonable suspicion that led to the arrest.
Saline County Prosecuting Attorney Ken Casady testified that the inaccurate account in the police reports weren’t good but were “fixable” if they came up in trial. He said he thinks his staff could be successful in prosecuting the case.
Deputy Prosecutor Chris Walton, who has worked closely with Smith on cases, said Smith listened to constructive criticism and his work improved. He added that Smith was “sincere” when he told Walton what happened and Smith was sorry.
A continuing theme in Gaither’s argument for firing Smith also was that he had full access to Smith’s personnel file, while the review board did not. Ellis pointed out some incidents that he said showed insubordination on Smith’s part.
The personnel file also had good points, according to testimony, including a letter from former Police Chief Gary Sipes that said Smith was performing “exemplary” work. There also were evaluations that indicated good and excellent work on Smith’s part, according to testimony.
Others who testified include Officer Chris Runnells, Officer David Richey and Lt. Monte Hodge, all of whom served on the review board. Runnells said he didn’t think Smith’s actions were severe enough for termination.
Karla Haley, a former City Council member, also testified, alluding to the notion that contentions with Smith on the city’s behalf are “deep,” going back to the time when there were problems with keeping a police chief in Benton.
The commission voted against allowing the introduction of a deposition by Newcomb in which Sgt. Jeff Kling, president of the FOP, testified.
When asked by Ellis, Gaither said firing Smith had nothing to do with his involvement with the FOP.
Ellis said the commission’s decision “sends a strong message that honesty and integrity are paramount in police work.”
Smith may appeal to Saline County Circuit Court. He and Newcomb were unsure Wednesday night if that would be the next course of action.
Smith indicated Wednesday night that he preferred not to comment right now on the commission’s decision.
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