PRESS RELEASE- FOR SMITH POLICE DEPARTMENT
On Saturday, April 11th, 2020, Fort Smith Chief of Police Danny Baker became aware of an allegation of misconduct by an FSPD 911 dispatcher when a citizen's social media post detailing the incident was forwarded to him by one of his senior command staff officers.
The citizen who made the social media post had been contacted and chose not to file a formal complaint against the dispatcher; however, because the reported language was so troubling and unbecoming of a public servant, Chief Baker ordered an immediate investigation.
Following an internal investigation of the incident, a Certified Training Operator was identified for using rude, offensive, and unprofessional language on April 9, 2020 while speaking to a citizen and in the background of another call.
After conferring with the City Administrator and Human Resources, the CTO’s employment with the Fort Smith Police Department was terminated, effective today.
"I take no pleasure in making this determination. But the public expects more from us than what was heard on that call, as they should," Chief Baker said. "I thank the CTO for her many years of service, but I have asked the people of Fort Smith to be kind to one another, especially during these unprecedented and uncertain times.
It is imperative for me to hold my employees to that same standard. We are doing good things here every day. The overwhelming majority of the 217 sworn and non-sworn personnel of the Fort Smith Police Department come to work with an attitude and a spirit of service and community every day and I appreciate them very much."
In the interests of transparency, we are sending out a notification of the results of the investigation and the action we have taken as a result.
We believe our Officers and Dispatchers are good people with high-pressure jobs that require sacrifice and love of community. We all have bad days. However, this type of behavior cannot, will not, and should not ever be tolerated from a public servant.
Please contact the FSPD Office of Professional Standards at 479-709-5161 if you have any concerns or complaints involving any interactions with one of our employees.
It is our vision to improve the lives of everyone we encounter, and you can help us accomplish this by swiftly bringing such issues to our attention.
Thank you, Fort Smith. It is a privilege to serve this community, and we will strive every day to earn it.
