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

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…