Little Rock Police Department


The Little Rock Police Department, is the primary law enforcement agency for the Little Rock, Arkansas in the United States.
The current Chief of Police is Colonel Keith Humphrey.

History

In 1831 the Town of Little Rock was incorporated and Dr. Matthew Cunningham won the first mayoral election. In 1835 Little Rock was incorporated as the first City in the Arkansas Territory. The Little Rock Police Department was established in 1866 and in 1892 the first paid Little Rock Fire Department was created.

Rank structure

The Little Rock Police Department has various positions for detectives, Field Training Officers, and other mission specific assignments, but these are not considered official ranks by the department.

Organization

The department is organized into a number of divisions. These are:
RankNameDate of DeathCause of DeathAgeLocation
OfficerWilliam L. Copeland12-31-1885Beaten and killed with a blunt object as he questioned a work release prisoner as to why he was in town and not back in jail past his allotted timeN/AN/A
Police OfficerW.T. Phillips08-02-1908Shot and killed while attempting to arrest a drunk man shortly after midnight22N/A
SergeantWilliam I. Campbell04-18-1911Shot and killed by a fellow drunk Officer during an argument32N/A
Police OfficerJohn O. Miller04-23-1911Shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man for disturbing the peaceN/AN/A
DetectiveSam D. Morgan10-30-1915Shot and killed with another Officer’s gun during a fight with a man that multiple Officers were attempting to arrest55On W 12th Street in Little Rock, Arkansas
Police OfficerJoe Erber06-06-1920Shot and killed after arriving on scene to a domestic disturbance call involving a drunk man59At a house boat on the Arkansas River near Lincoln Avenue in North Little Rock, Arkansas
Police OfficerThomas D. Hudson08-19-1920Shot and killed after interrupting a burglary in progress26Inside a cafe on W 9th Street in Little Rock, Arkansas
Detective SergeantJohn W. Cabiness08-12-1922Accidentally shot and killed by a U.S. Marshal who mistook Sergeant Cabiness for a railroad striker that was out to get himN/AN/A
Detective SergeantGeorge W. Moore07-24-1923Shot and killed along with Detective Sergeant Luther C. Hay after the two men walked in on illegal activities including a dice game; one of the suspects was wanted for the earlier murder of Okmulgee County Deputy Sheriff John Lung on 09-15-1922N/AN/A
Detective SergeantLuther C. Hay07-26-1923Succumbed to six gunshot wounds sustained on 07-24-1923 after being shot along with Detective Sergeant George W. Moore after the two men walked in on illegal activities including a dice game; one of the suspects was wanted for the earlier murder of Okmulgee County Deputy Sheriff John Lung on 09-15-1922N/AN/A
Police OfficerCharles B. Faulkner07-13-1924Succumbed to injuries sustained on 07-11-1924 after being in a crash while on his motorcycle after a vehicle pulled out in front of him; Officer Faulkner was responding to a drunken fight at the time27N/A
Police OfficerHarvey L. Biggs07-27-1924Shot and killed as he and his partner lay in wait for several men that were stealing parts off an abandoned car in a ditch33N/A
Police OfficerFrank E. Swilling, Sr.12-11-1926Succumbed to injuries sustained the previous day after being struck by a vehicle while on a traffic stop33Intersection of 4th Street and Main Street in Little Rock, Arkansas
Police OfficerRobert A. Johnson03-23-1930Killed in a crash while on his police motorcycle after being struck by a car23Intersection of 3rd Street and Victory Street in Little Rock, Arkansas
Detective SergeantSamuel Neal McDermott09-03-1930Succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained on 08-27-1930 after being shot while attempting to arrest two out of six escaped prisoners from the Pulaski County Jail31Behind the Little Rock National Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas
Detective LieutenantOscar F. Deubler01-01-1947Shot and killed by a fellow Officer who then committed suicide32N/A
Police OfficerLloyd W. Worthy09-02-1967Shot and killed while chasing a man leaving the scene of an abandoned vehicle he stopped to investigate27N/A
Police OfficerAlvin Joseph Free09-27-1970Killed in a crash while in his patrol car after a vehicle pulled out in front of him as he responded to backup at a domestic disturbance call22N/A
DetectiveNoel Don McGuire05-14-1980Shot and killed by a 15-year-old while on a traffic stop; unknown to Detective McGuire, the 15 y/o and his 16 y/o partner had just committed an armed robbery in the neighboring county23N/A
PatrolmanDavid E. Barnett02-13-1991Shot and killed while off-duty as he attempted to stop an armed robbery33Inside a Waffle House in Little Rock, Arkansas
PatrolmanHenry Lee Callanen05-15-1993Shot and killed while off-duty working his second job at a local McDonald’s; as Patrolman Callanen walked the short distance from McDonald’s to the local bank to make a deposit, he was confronted by two robbers that held him up, leading to a shootout62N/A
DetectiveJoseph Tucker Fisher02-07-1995Shot and killed as he helped serve a narcotics warrant at an apartment complex; Detective Frederick Lee was also shot in the head but survived34In an apartment complex on Butler Road in Little Rock, Arkansas
Police OfficerJack David Cooper02-02-2002Succumbed to gunshot wounds sustained the previous day after being shot by a man he responded to due to complaining of vampires34N/A
K9Titus07-15-2015Died from heat exhaustion following a fairly long foot pursuit of a suspect wanted for breaking into vehiclesN/AN/A

Misconduct

In January 2011, Officer Jason Gilbert and two other officers from nearby agencies were indicted for a conspiracy to rob an armored car. The charges included a failed September 10, 2007 attempt to rob an armored car. In March 2012, Gilbert was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
In February 2011, Officer Rick Harmon was arrested for drunk driving.

SWAT operation

In early 2019, press reports indicated that the department serves all search warrants with a SWAT unit. Most drug-related warrants are "no-knock," meaning the police can use explosives to enter a home without warning.

Josh Hastings

In September 2012, Officer Josh Hastings was charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of fifteen-year-old Bobby Moore. According to the charging documents, Moore was shot in the head as he was backing away from the officer trying to flee in a stolen car. Officer Hastings had been on the force for five years and had been suspended six times previously. In April, 2014, after two deadlocked juries, charges were dropped as prosecutors said no jury was willing to convict Hastings. He had been fired from his job, but his lawyer said he would take steps to return to the department. Later investigation revealed that Hastings was hired in spite of internal objections of Hastings having once attended a Ku Klux Klan meeting and lying about it on his application. During his tenure at LRPD, Hastings used force an estimated 63 times and collected over 30 disciplinary citations, for actions such as "sleeping on the job, abusive language, failure to file reports, failure to appear in court, failure to notify authorities of a dead body, conduct unbecoming an officer, insubordination, and untruthfulness", as well as reckless driving.