[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6024563,"mediaKeyId","5759366-29ba30cd56b0fc7e03e04a731e65b5b6","parentId",5759366,"title","Conway hearing narrows witnesses, spotlights GPS data dispute and expert testimony","audioSeconds",2324,"startMs",1159000,"endMs",3483000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5759366-29ba30cd56b0fc7e03e04a731e65b5b6&start=1159&end=3483","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5759366-29ba30cd56b0fc7e03e04a731e65b5b6/thumbnail_1159000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6024563/Conway-City/Faulkner-County/Arkansas/Conway-hearing-narrows-witnesses-spotlights-GPS-data-dispute-and-expert-testimony","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6024563-c6053e4e3c18f5b2e5a216991be1c8fe/orig.mp4?Expires=1771109041&Signature=RShjN9V-fvUfrmKyqvHGEtM9L8y~TII3PIzWdw-X3IDtQ5zyPgXDMhsFG4tsh1~lk8sa8WnI~NfR-2XbxnN4E9Fku~c17qoT0Qm0rDpp30pVQAyp1NoLPqA-0odt2vSwMBwePlHLeYSyVJWFfPXNYq9WjDRZn83BmUA7eu~Vpuad6lNqahOoU~pHOJfn~QuyxsbUN-I8odbywHDN2aL5fQIpd3yU4~eUV4MBsMMXKCDSuVkB5b2YWdaM4lknvS8gMpxedNwHVe1k29lPWXpziWBlaqiMAJDJ4E6SJjY-O8USehcq2b~VUyDMo-MuBZBL9VZ1CIslIjP7HKAbMgxWEg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Conway, Arkansas","date","2025-09-09T22:16:59Z","article","The Conway Police Department review hearing on the administrative investigation into the April 13 mass shooting included repeated challenges over the relevance of dozens of potential witnesses and the technical interpretation of GPS and camera timestamps.

Attorneys for the parties pared a long witness list during the hearing, arguing some expected witnesses would be redundant with video evidence already in the record. The city objected to several citizen and towing‑service witnesses as cumulative; the hearing officer and commissioners allowed a mix of witnesses while accepting many recordings and documents as proffers for the administrative record.

Counsel discussed specific witnesses who worked at the scene or later were involved in towing and vehicle removal: Shelley Young and Blake Pappara of Helton’s Wrecker Service were identified as people who filmed vehicle removal and who saw crowd size as towing began; counsel for the appellant argued their live testimony would repeat video evidence and eyewitness accounts already before the board.

A focal point of dispute was presentation and interpretation of location and timing data. The city’s investigator, Lieutenant Tom Kennedy, provided a timeline assembled from three systems — officer GPS, in‑car video clocks and radio logs — that did not share a single synchronized timestamp. Counsel and commissioners discussed the offsets among systems (roughly seconds to tens of seconds) and whether that created gaps that required further expert analysis.

The appellant offered Mark Nelson as a forensic data expert to analyze GPS and geolocation files, speeds and braking events. Nelson’s proponents described him as an experienced data‑systems engineer who builds software for security and data forensics; opponents said he lacks a formal degree or certification in geographic information systems and geolocation mapping and signaled they would challenge his qualification to offer expert opinion in that specific field. Commissioners decided to admit Nelson for voir dire of his qualifications, noting the board would weigh his expertise and give his testimony whatever weight it merited.

Evidence management featured several procedural decisions: the review board accepted an \"award packet\" (exhibit 48) by stipulation rather than subpoenaing witnesses to explain commendations; several items were proffered — admitted into the record for completeness but flagged as not relied upon in deliberations. The board and counsel also flagged how binders provided to commissioners contained materials not yet formally admitted and reminded members to rely only on admitted exhibits when making factual determinations.

Chief issues raised during evidence arguments included whether testimony from towing operators or dispatchers would add materially to time‑stamped video evidence; how to treat GPS log entries that lacked badge identifiers or showed timing gaps; and whether witness testimony that simply echoed content visible on video would be cumulative and therefore unnecessary. Commissioners repeatedly balanced the hearing’s length against the potential value of marginal eyewitness detail.

What remains: The board heard multiple technical presentations and ordered a limited set of witness examinations and video plays. The dispute over the admissibility and weight of GPS analyses and the qualifications of proposed experts is likely to shape how the board interprets the timing and sequencing of officers’ actions during the April 13 incident.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","September 9th 2025 - Civil Service Commission","oneSentenceSummary","At the Conway Police Department administrative hearing into the April 13 mass shooting response, attorneys and commissioners debated which witnesses and exhibits are relevant; a proposed data expert and differences among GPS, dash and body camera timestamps drew particular attention.","taxTitle","Conway City, Faulkner County, Arkansas","taxId",3550,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6024568,"Conway chief fires officer over response, statements after Fifth Avenue Park mass shooting",2216,0,2216000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5759366-29ba30cd56b0fc7e03e04a731e65b5b6&start=0&end=2216","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5759366-29ba30cd56b0fc7e03e04a731e65b5b6/thumbnail_0.jpg","/articles/6024568/Conway-City/Faulkner-County/Arkansas/Conway-chief-fires-officer-over-response-statements-after-Fifth-Avenue-Park-mass-shooting","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6024568-13ae8d85a83d935e7506b5465b7ef180/orig.mp4?Expires=1771109041&Signature=U~M~61VCbg0RE-QCNnOPwnLymfrymBJUuuI5cN2-84KMw4JfW7P8TOTBgx62wHX4c3erNjEUNVixn~NligG9eIf~xOaV8YYdbacwhk60-xUdSW5OxkmgP5a6FeGCpU~E~~n6NQzI6ONkd8pFauFpLGXd86GzDJtVKAoDU-JxSB4NSeIEbmAPTNrAFrdBUy-dMl7Z6R0tKJIHDQSuuqri28ecchjtw70ITMrpR~eXwBYmvxBjh1tgyGw5M~--e1XJpB5M5srnlEhFVetAFYorEgqIYkvVxlmHE~~GtWAaK~NU5JV1qIcVp5GRYPcUk3sITIMFasnADmHIz-kwdoQxwg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Conway Police Chief Chris Harris fired Officer Britney Byrd June 30, saying an administrative inquiry into the April 13 mass shooting at Fifth Avenue Park found multiple policy violations, including unsatisfactory performance, untruthfulness and insubordination.

Harris told the Conway Police Department Review Board that the investigator, Lieutenant Tom Kennedy, and reviewers concluded Byrd “departed from the scene where an active life‑threatening situation was unfolding” and later made statements contradicted by camera and timing evidence. \"Your lack of meaningful action during the crucial first 5 minutes of a mass shooting . . . constitutes a significant failure,\" Harris read from the termination letter.

The inquiry, AI 25‑04, reviewed dash‑cam, body‑worn camera footage and GPS logs and examined when officers knew about gunfire and how they responded. Harris and the review board concluded Byrd, who was parked across the street at Roller McNutt Funeral Home when gunfire began, did not activate emergency equipment or body‑worn recording and drove a circuitous route that took her away from the park before returning about five minutes after her initial radio transmission. Other officers who arrived sooner — several of them with far less patrol experience — had activated lights and sirens and began life‑saving measures.

The board members who voted to recommend termination were Assistant Chief Mike Welsh, Major Clay Smith, Major Presley and Sergeant Philip Sweet; Major Lee Wood initially proposed a lesser written reprimand and then changed his position in follow‑up discussion. Lt. Kennedy presented the investigative summary but was not a voting member of the review board.

Harris said the review weighed the totality of evidence including the sequence of radio calls, in‑car and body camera footage and officers’ GPS data. The chief emphasized the department’s need for personnel who will respond “directly and expeditiously” to life‑threatening incidents and said untruthfulness in investigatory interviews is grounds for termination: “In this profession, that’s all you have is your integrity.”

Byrd was given a written termination notice listing the policies found to have been violated: 601.3 (conduct unbecoming), 601.4 (insubordination), 601.25 (truthfulness), 603.24 (unsatisfactory performance), 800‑5 (emergency operation of departmental vehicles) and 855 (body‑worn camera). The letter notes the department’s finding that she turned off in‑car recording before leaving the immediate scene, did not activate emergency response equipment, and made statements to the investigator that were contradicted by recorded evidence.

The administrative file and the review board packet included dash and body camera footage, GPS extracts and interview recordings. Lieutenant Kennedy told the board he was alerted to concerns about Byrd after supervisors raised “rumblings” about her response; he then reviewed location and timing data and interviewed responding officers and Byrd.

Harris said he considered officers’ experience, past discipline and the context of a chaotic mass shooting, but that those factors did not alter his conclusion. \"If she had followed officer Riddle and got there at the same time, we wouldn't be here,\" he said. The chief acknowledged Byrd’s prior commendations but said awards do not excuse the conduct his office found in this case.

Byrd signed an acknowledgement of the termination letter; the department provided the notice, described the findings and set the termination effective date.

The review board and the chief’s decision do not resolve any criminal investigations; detectives and prosecutors continue separate investigative work into the April 13 shooting.

What’s next: The termination is final as an administrative action; Byrd may pursue internal appeal processes available under department rules or seek legal remedies outside the department. The review board’s written recommendations and the investigative file remain part of the departmental record.","Conway Police Chief Chris Harris terminated Officer Britney Byrd on June 30 after an administrative inquiry found she failed to respond urgently to the April 13 mass shooting at Fifth Avenue Park and made statements the investigator found untruthful.","actionData","errors"]

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Conway hearing narrows witnesses, spotlights GPS data dispute and expert testimony

Conway chief fires officer over response, statements after Fifth Avenue Park mass shooting