Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Order Policing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Little Rock police outline response to Dec. 6 demonstration; chief disputes social-media claims
Summary
Chief Hilton gave a timeline of the Dec. 6 demonstration near the State Capitol and Central High, saying detectives monitored the group, patrols intervened to separate confrontations, officers stopped and cited a pickup driver, and 22 people were removed from a U-Haul with 21 identified; the chief said social-media assertions that officers escorted or marched with the group were "100% utterly false."
Little Rock Police Chief Hilton told the Board of Directors on Dec. 9 that detectives monitored a reported extremist group on Dec. 6 and coordinated with state and capitol police, then responded when the group later appeared at the State Capitol and marched through neighborhoods near Central High School.
Chief Hilton said detectives first received limited information about the group's planned presence at the Capitol in the morning and that officers and state counterparts monitored the location. He reported that at about 1:30 p.m. the group arrived near the Little Rock 9 statue and later marched on sidewalks to Central High, where members posed for photos. "We didn't make them take off their masks," he said when describing identification and search considerations; later he said 22 people were taken from a U-Haul and 21 were identified.
The chief described an incident where a white Toyota Tacoma drove alongside the marchers, honking and antagonizing the group; that driver was cited and his vehicle towed. Officers intervened when neighborhood residents attempted to confront the demonstrators. Chief Hilton said officers transported the group from the interstate staging area to a safer location (the Watershed parking lot) until personal vehicles arrived to pick them up, noting safety concerns about leaving people on the interstate.
Board members asked whether permits were required to march on sidewalks and whether state police or local officers issued traffic citations; the chief said no permit is needed to walk on public sidewalks and that the citation in question was issued by a Little Rock officer. He also said the department created a 29-page incident report and used body cameras during the response.
Chief Hilton directly addressed false social-media narratives: "There were reports that we had officers that were escorting these people... 100% utterly false," he said, and he described steps officers took to separate groups and maintain safety. The chief explained officers did not force demonstrators to remove masks and that identification efforts located 21 of 22 people; one individual's identification was not captured amid chaotic conditions on the interstate.
What comes next: the chief said the incident report and body-camera footage exist and can be processed through proper public-record channels; board members requested the department share the written presentation and follow-up materials with the board and public as appropriate.
