Courtesy of the Pine Bluff Commercial
PINE BLUFF (KTHV) --We're learning more about why the "second man in charge" at the Pine Bluff Police Department is on administrative leave with pay right now.
Assistant Chief Ivan Whitfield and his attorney recently sent a letter to City Hall (PDF). In the letter, Assistant Chief Whitfield outlines his version of events leading up to his administrative leave last Thursday, including a serious dispute with the police chief.
It's front page news in Pine Bluff Tuesday. Assistant Chief Ivan Whitfield called out Chief Brenda Davis-Jones over his administrative leave.
"I think the City of Pine Bluff owes him an apology, correct the record and make the record straight," Othello Cross said.
Pine Bluff Attorney Othello Cross represents Whitfield. The two sent a letter to City Hall, calling the leave "unwarranted and retaliatory." And that's because Whitfield would not tell the chief who the officer was, who allegedly recently called him and said the chief's boyfriend was about to be arrested at a bar.
"You know, in the police work, if you promise that you're not going to disclose a person's name, a confidential informant, you can't," Cross said.
The letter says after multiple rejections, the chief allegedly said to Whitfield, "I promoted you. I gave you a pay raise." And later, "If you or anybody messes with my two boys or my man, you are going down, I mean that."
The letter also alleges the chief denied Whitfield a chance to speak with the Mayor about the second part of all this: one of Whitfield's authorized guns allegedly found on a recent shooting suspect in town.
"Does he have any idea how it got there?" THV's Max Seigle asks.
"No, none whatsoever," Cross replied.
Cross says the gun, Whitfield placed under his front seat for emergencies but never used, was somehow stolen. And that's a story he and his client feel is "fit to print" on that front page.
Now as for reaction from the Police Chief, a Department Spokesman said Chief Davis-Jones had no comment on this story Tuesday. But in Tuesday's Pine Bluff Commercial, she called Whitfield's accounts in his letter false.
We also talked to Mayor Carl Redus about all this. He would only say, off camera, that he needs to wait until Whitfield's investigation is over to talk, and Redus expects things to wrap up by week's end.
Right now, Cross says they have no plans for a lawsuit. Cross feels this whole matter is now in the city's court, and they're waiting for a response and hoping for some apologies.
Assistant Chief Whitfield is a 29-year veteran of the Pine Bluff Police Department.
As for the Police Chief's boyfriend, Whitfield's attorney says there was no arrest and no one was hurt in the shooting involving his gun.