Arkansas

Arkansas police officer fired after video shows him beating handcuffed man in patrol car

Published

2 hours ago

August 14, 2024

Arkansas police officer fired after video shows him beating handcuffed man in patrol car

An Arkansas police officer has been fired after video shows him allegedly beating a man handcuffed in the back of a patrol car.

In a statement posted to social media Aug. 9, the Jonesboro Police Department said it had received a complaint of an incident involving the officer of a “serious nature” from the previous evening.

“Following an internal review of the incident, it was determined that the officer involved, Joseph Harris, should be terminated effective immediately,” Jonesboro police said in the statement.

Jonesboro is located in northeast Arkansas, and is about 70 miles from Memphis, Tennessee.

Jonesboro police posted video of the incident online, which shows Harris allegedly beating a man who was handcuffed and sitting detained in the back of his patrol car wearing what looks like a hospital gown.

Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott told local station KAIT he had been communicating with the FBI, and that the Little Rock office had opened a case regarding the incident.

USA TODAY has reached out to Jonesboro police for more information.

Ta’Kiya Young shooting: Ohio officer indicted in 2023 shooting death of pregnant woman near Columbus

Video shows handcuffed man physically assaulted by police officer

In the video posted by the Jonesboro Police Department, the man can be heard telling officers he had swallowed a bag of fentanyl the day before, and thinks he will die unless he’s taken back to a hospital.

At one point, the video shows the man unbuckling his seatbelt and laying down in the back seat, before an officer opens the door and begins punching and elbowing the man’s head repeatedly.

Another officer, who police have not identified, checks on the man and asks if he is alright, but the man is unresponsive after the assault. The officer then closes the car door by his feet.

The first officer returns and seemingly rubs him roughly in the chest with a tool, which causes the man to twist and groan, and then closes the door on his head.

The car then begins to drive as the man, still laying down, continues to yell and groan in the back seat.

Harris previously cited for use of force

This is not the first time Harris has faced consequences for using force.

About two years ago, CNN reported that he received a 20-hour suspension without pay and further training from the police department for excessive force, Sally Smith, a public information officer with the Jonesboro Police Department, said.

He was additionally named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in June, Smith told CNN.

Source link

Click to comment

Arkansas

Arkansas school districts pushing forward with implementing phone-free campuses

Published

9 hours ago

August 14, 2024

Press Room

Arkansas school districts pushing forward with implementing phone-free campuses

RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – A new effort by the office of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the Arkansas Department of Education is aiming to create phone-free campuses.

According to the ADE, more than 200 districts expressed interest in the phone-free pilot program. Officials said the number of districts using this new tool is expected to fluctuate, as some agreed to participate, some said no and some districts are checking with their local boards about participation.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders encourages schools to join phone-free mental health pilot program

Amid this effort, the Russellville School District voted Tuesday to use a new tool to keep their campuses phone-free.

Russellville Junior High assistant principal Sara Walker said they’re on board to do what they can to keep their students safe.

“Our current policy is that students aren’t allowed to have their cell phone unless it’s for an educational purpose, however, we all know it’s a temptation,” Walker said. “If you have it near you to get on it, it’s kind of hard to enforce, even though teachers and administrators do their best to do that.”

The board voted to purchase new pouches for phones for grades 5 through 12 that will stay locked away so students can focus on their class work. Officials said the district will be reimbursed for the purchase by the state.

The governor’s plan to keep cell phones out of students’ hands is by putting them into a pouch they’ll have with them throughout the day, but this pouch made by Yondr doesn’t simply just zip up.

“There is a locking mechanism at the very top, it’s got a pin and a magnetic closure and so when the students close it, it will automatically lock and they cannot open it without an unlocking mechanism,” Walker said.

CDC and Arkansas health professionals report rise in youths struggling with mental health

Unlocking stations will be throughout the school but will only be available at the end of the day, there will also be some handheld unlocking devices. Teachers and administrators will be the only ones with the mechanism to unlock the pouches.

The school board said it will not pass out the pouches until they have a better-written policy for everyone to see and understand first.

Walker said they had meetings with stakeholders and concerns were brought up like how to contact kids throughout the day, which Walker said will be through the front office.

Another concern was what if someone accidentally takes home their pouch without unlocking it. This is something they’re working through.

Parents were present at the meeting on Tuesday night who wanted to speak but didn’t follow the proper policies to address the board, so they weren’t allowed to speak on this.

According to the school district, the total cost to purchase is more than $124,000, which they said will be reimbursed by the state.

Grant helps University of Central Arkansas graduate program fill need for more school psychologists

District officials said the pouches will not be in by the time school starts on Monday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLRT – FOX16.com.

Source link

Arkansas

Governor wants Arkansas’ next legislative session to focus on higher ed, she says | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Published

16 hours ago

August 13, 2024

Press Room

Governor wants Arkansas’ next legislative session to focus on higher ed, she says | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

ROGERS — Gov. Sarah Sanders wants to focus on higher education in the next legislative session, she said at a public appearance in Rogers on Tuesday.

Improvements in higher education are needed to provide the skilled workforce vital to business expansion and the state’s economic growth, Sanders said at a luncheon hosted by the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal. About 500 people attended. The Legislature convenes in January.

Public education received the highest priority in the 2023 legislative session, the first of the Sanders administration. The governor proposed a public education overhaul with the LEARNS act, which passed. Now she wants to turn to higher education, she said.

“I hope that our focus shifts to that,” she said.

The governor gave no specifics of the changes in higher education she would like to see, or what else might be a priority for her administration in the next session. State budgets for higher education stayed flat in recent years with a slight decrease in the state’s budget for the fiscal year that started July 1.

“Higher education should be a priority,” said Sen. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville. Leding is a member of the Senate Education Committee and the Higher Education Task Force of the National Conference of State Legislators. His district includes the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville campus.

“With the university in my district, I tend to think of 18-year-olds coming out of high school and going to college, but it’s not like that anymore,” Leding said.

The portion of adults returning to school to improve their skills is a growing segment of students; changes to higher education should reflect that, he said.

Leding is glad to hear of the governor’s comments, he said, but bringing higher education to the front of legislative priorities has dangers. Higher education is the favorite target of some lawmakers who believe colleges and universities are not socially conservative enough, he said.

Joe Spivey of Rogers, a member of the Board of Trustees at Northwest Arkansas Community College, said he hopes the state’s two-year colleges and technical schools benefit from the governor’s efforts. High-tech industry needs the engineers and others educated in four-year universities, but need workers from two-year schools as well, he said.

“We have to be aware that what will attract industry are two-year colleges and the tech programs in them,” Spivey said.

Source link

Arkansas

Final Arkansas high school volleyball Top 25 rankings of 2023

Published

23 hours ago

August 13, 2024

Press Room

Final Arkansas high school volleyball Top 25 rankings of 2023

The 2024 Arkansas high school volleyball season is upon us. Next week we will release the preseason Top 25 rankings. In the meantime, here are last season’s final Top 25 rankings.

NOTE: Records reflect the team’s overall record.

1. Fayetteville (25–8)

Previous rank: No. 2

Last week: Class 6A state tournament at Conway; def. Bryant 3-1; def. No. 19 Cabot 3-0; def. No. 5 Conway 3-2 for state championship

COMMENT: New group of Lady Bulldogs showed it was determined to join the previous three classes and show it was capable of winning a state championship and they did it in one that went down to the wire.

2. Conway (31-5)

Previous rank: No. 5

Last week: Class 6A state tournament at Conway; def. No. 9 Springdale Har-Ber 3-0; def. No. 3 Fort Smith Southside 3-1; lost to No. 2 Fayetteville 3-2

COMMENT: Lady Wampus Cats make first trip to state finals since 2018 and take Fayetteville down to the wire. They also won 19 consecutive matches and went 2-1 against 5A champion Benton and had victories against 5A runner-up Greenwood and 4A runner-up Shiloh Christian.

3. Baptist Prep (37-2-1)

Previous rank: No. 6

Last week: Class 3A state tournament at Valley Springs; def. Salem 3-0; def. Paris 3-0; def. Harding Academy 3-0; def. No. 1 Hackett 3-0 for state championship

COMMENT: Lady Eagles went 1-1 vs. 5A champion Benton, defeated 5A runner-up Greenwood and 4A runner-up Shiloh Christian and went 8-1 against teams in Classes 5A and 6A.

4. Hackett (38-2-2)

Previous rank: No. 1

Last week: Class 3A state tournament at Valley Springs; def Manila 3-0; def. Central Arkansas Christian 3-0; def. Crowley’s Ridge Academy 3-0; lost to No. 6 Baptist Prep 3-0

COMMENT: Hackett went 10-1-2 in teams in higher classes including wins over 6A semifinalist Fort Smith Southside and 5A semifinalist Mount St. Mary and 4A runner-up Shiloh Christian. Three consecutive losses in the state championship match haven’t left Hackett head coach Bridgett Freeman discouraged. As long as she gets a shot to get back to the state championship, she’s said she’ll keep taking her chances.

5. Benton (30-5)

Previous rank: No. 7

Last week: Class 5A state tournament at Searcy; def. Siloam Springs 3-0; def. No. 18 Paragould 3-0; def. No. 14 Harrison 3-0; def. No. 15 Greenwood 3-2 for state championship

COMMENT: Isabella Lagemann joins her older sister Abigail Lagemann as state tournament MVP. Lady Panthers went 6-3 against teams that reached the state finals.

6. Fort Smith Southside (26-6)

Previous rank: No. 4

Last week: Class 6A state tournament at Conway; def. Little Rock Central 3-0; lost to No. 5 Conway 3-1

COMMENT: Lady Mavericks followed state runner-up season with a trip to the semifinals and had victories against 5A champion Benton, 5A runner-up Greenwood and 4A runner-up Shiloh Christian.

7. Brookland (34-4-1)

Previous rank: No. 8

Last week: Class 4A state tournament at Shiloh Christian; def. Bauxite 3-0; def. Farmington 3-0; vs. Gravette; def. No. 11 Shiloh Christian 3-0 for state championship

COMMENT Brookland head coach Nancy Rodriguez wanted to challenge her team and she did as the Lady Bearcats went 9-3 against teams in Classes 5A and 6A and that doesn’t include a loss to Collierville, Tenn. which went 38-7.

8. Greenwood (23-11)

Previous rank: No. 15

Last week: Class 5A state tournament at Searcy; def. No. 17 Sheridan 3-1; def. No. 10 Marion 3-0; def. No. 20 Mount St. Mary 3-0; lost to No. 7 Benton 3-2

COMMENT: A season that featured losses to 6A champion Fayetteville, 6A finalist Conway, 6A semifinalist Fort Smith Southside and 3A champion Baptist Prep ended in a five-set loss in the championship match.

9. Hot Springs Lakeside MTXE (24-6-2)

Previous rank: No. 4

Last week: Class 5A state tournament at Searcy; def. Russellville 3-1; lost to No. 20 Mount St. Mary 3-2

COMMENT Lady Rams were one of two teams to beat Hackett, knocked off Class 5A state champion Benton, 4A champion Brookland and shared 5A-South Conference title.

10. Mansfield (35-2-1)

Previous rank: No. 13

Last week: Class 2A state tournament at Quitman; def. Cedar Ridge 3-0; vs. Yellville-Summit 3-0; def. Life Way Christian 3-0; def. No. 23 Conway Christian 3-0 for state championship

COMMENT: Alyson Edwards repeats as state tournament MVP and was the only player to play in all four state championship matches. Only blemishes on the record were a loss to Hackett in the Alma Invitational a tie to Springdale Har-Ber and loss to Paris in the Paris Invitational.

11. Shiloh Christian (29-7)

Previous rank: No. 11

Last week: Class 4A state tournament at Shiloh Christian; def. Lonoke 3-0; def. Wynne 3-2; vs. Fountain Lake 3-0; lost to No. 8 Brookland 3-0

COMMENT: Lady Saints finish runner-up again but went 9-4 against teams in Classes 5A and 6A.

12. Cabot (19-11)

Previous rank: No. 19

Last week: Class 6A state tournament at Conway; def. No. 16 Bentonville 3-1; lost to No. 2 Fayetteville 3-0

COMMENT: Lady Panthers reached the semifinals for the second consecutive year. Seven of their losses came to teams that reached the state finals.

13. Harrison (21-6)

Previous rank: No. 14

Last week: Class 5A state tournament at Searcy; def. Lake Hamilton 3-0; def. No. 12 Valley View 3-2; lost to No. 7 Benton 3-0

COMMENT: Lady Goblins won the 5A-West, split with 5A runner-up Greenwood and beat 5A-East Champion Marion. Reese Rickets (447 kills) was a fun player to watch.

14. Mount St. Mary (21-10-1)

Previous rank: No. 20

This week: Class 5A state tournament at Searcy; def. Batesville 3-0; def. No. 4 Hot Springs Lakeside MTXE 3-2; lost to No. 15 Greenwood 3-0

COMMENT: Belles recovered from a late-season slump to reach the semifinals the second consecutive year.

15. Springdale Har-Ber (20-12)

Previous rank: No. 9

Last week: Class 6A state tournament at Conway; def. North Little Rock 3-0; lost to No. 5 Conway 3-0

COMMENT: Lady Wildcats recovered from six-game losing streak in midseason that included three losses to teams in Oklahoma to end Fayetteville’s 38-match winning streak against in-state opponents.

16. Marion (24-7-1)

Previous rank: No. 10

Last week: Class 5A state tournament at Searcy; def. Sylvan Hills 3-0; lost to No. 15 Greenwood 3-0

COMMENT: Lady Patriots went undefeated against 5A-East, swept Valley View and tied Hackett at the Hot Springs Lakeside Tournament.

17. Valley View (25-9)

Previous rank: No. 12

This week: Class 5A state tournament at Searcy; def. Vilonia 3-0; lost to No. 14 Harrison 3-2

COMMENT: First time since 2002 Valley View failed to reach the state finals and the first time since 2001 it didn’t reach the semifinals.

18. Bentonville (19-15)

Previous rank: No. 16

Last week: Class 6A state tournament at Conway; def. Jonesboro 3-0; lost to No. 19 Cabot 3-1

COMMENT: Lady Tiger loved to challenge themselves against out-of-state competition as eight of their losses came to teams in Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas with a combined 187-65 record.

19. Paragould (23-8)

Previous rank: No. 18

Last week: Class 5A state tournament at Searcy; def. Little Rock Christian Academy 3-1; lost to No. 7 Benton 3-0

COMMENT: All eyes for the next three years will be on Ava Beasley (418 kills, 51 aces, 29 blocks, 323 digs, 278 assists), who dazzled a freshman. Head coach Reed Fogleman said if rules allowed it, she would have used her as seventh grader.

20. Sheridan (25-5)

Previous rank: No. 17

Last week: Class 5A state tournament at Searcy; lost to No. 15 Greenwood 3-1

COMMENT Sheridan won its own tournament, the Lonoke Tournament and finished third in the 5A-South.

21. Conway Christian (26-2-1)

Previous rank: No. 23

Last week: Class 2A state tournament at Quitman; def. Magnet Cove 3-2; def. Thaden 3-1; def. No. 24 Lavaca 3-2; lost to No. 13 Mansfield

COMMENT: Kobie McKnight’s first year at Conway Christian ended in the state championship. Both losses came to Mansfield and the tie with Mena at the Paris Invitational.

22. Gravette (23-3)

Previous rank: Not ranked

Last week: Class 4A state tournament at Shiloh Christian: def. Pulaski Academy 3-1; def. No. 21 Mena 3-0; lost to No. 8 Brookland 3-0.

COMMENT: Semifinal trip earns Lady Lions appearance in rankings.

23. Mena (21-6-1)

Previous rank: No. 21

Last week: Class 4A state tournament at Shiloh Christian; def. Batesville Southside 3-2; lost to Gravette 3-0

COMMENT: Mena wins conference title for second consecutive year.

24. Lavaca (22-12–1)

Previous rank: No. 24

This week: Class 2A state tournament at Quitman; def. Barton 3-0; def. No. 25 England 3-0; lost to vs. No. 23 Conway Christian 3-2

COMMENT Golden Arrows reached the semifinals for the fourth consecutive season.