Little Rock Police Chief Keith Humphrey sued by Assistant chief, two sergeants

Assistant Police Chief Hayward Finks and two police sergeants —  Finks’ brother and a co-worker — have sued Little Rock Police Chief Keith Humphrey for allegedly retaliating against Finks for testifying that an investigation was rushed into Officer Charlie Starks for the fatal shooting of Bradley Blackshire.

Starks killed Blackshire during a traffic stop on suspicion that he was driving a stolen car. His actions were deemed justified by the prosecutor and a string of superior officers backed that finding, but Humphrey fired Starks for jumping in front of the moving vehicle and firing, in violation of policy. His firing was reversed by a circuit court action and he’s back on the force, though protesting his work conditions.

Finks testified at the Civil Service Commission hearing that Humphrey was under pressure from Mayor Frank Scott Jr. to fire Starks, something Humphrey and Scott have denied. Finks testified the internal investigation into Starks was rushed because of that pressure.
Joining Finks in the lawsuit, which you can read here, are his brother, Sgt. Duane Finks, and a co-worker, Sgt. Reginald Parks. Both had been supervisors in the school resources officer program.

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Baltimore PD sued by ACLU over aerial surveillance program

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Maryland are suing the Baltimore Police Department, pushing back against the aerial surveillance plane program.

The ACLU claims the program will put everyone in the city "under constant aerial surveillance."

|| Read the lawsuit ||

The plan calls for the BPD to have planes equipped with cameras fly over the city at least 40 hours per week. Officials said the program will help officers use data to help solve crimes.

The ACLU argues government officials have used similar technology in the past for other purposes.

"It is equivalent to having a police officer follow us, each of us, outside all the time in case we might commit a crime," said David Rocah, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Maryland. "If that happened in real life, everyone would clearly understand the privacy and First Amendment implications, and it would never be tolerated."

The ACLU said the aerial surveillance technology can be easily combined with the BPD's existing ground cameras, license plate readers and other sensors to tie data together and provide highly detailed information about residents' identities and activities.

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