ETHICS COMMISSION SETS FINAL ADJUDICATION HEARING FOR VALERIE TAUTUM'S ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN FINANCE ACTIVITY

FAILED CHARTER SCHOOL HEAD AND LRBOD CANDIDATE HAS A SHITLOAD OF TROUBLES

The Arkansas Ethics Commission has set a final adjudication hearing for the complaint we filed against Tatum, it is set for June 21st at 9:00 am.

AEC Notice for Valerie Tatum Final Hearing by Russ Racop on Scribd

NWA JUSTICE OF THE PEACE & ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER GET ARRESTED FOR DWI

Andera Jenkins, a Washington County Justice of the Peace and a teacher at Farmington Elementary School was arrested on June 12th on suspicion of DWI, according to court records.

Body camera footage of the incident is quite entertaining.

Jenkins' son was involved in a car accident at the intersection of Highway 62 and Butler Road at about 8 p.m. Prairie Grove police arrived and asked him for proof of insurance. He had his mother bring it to him.

When Jenkins arrived, an officer asked her about her son's insurance card. The officer noticed a "strong odor of intoxicants" when she began talking.

Jenkins told the officer she had two glasses of wine before driving to the accident.

JUST TWO OFFICER!

Jenkins failed a field sobriety test, according to the preliminary police report form.

Jenkins can be heard on the officer's body camera saying the sheriff and the county judge are friends of hers and the officer should call them. She said the officer should let her family take her home.

She asked for the officer's name and said she would talk to the sheriff.

When the officer asked Jenkins to put her hands behind her back, she began yelling for her family to record the incident. The officer told her his body camera was recording the incident already. Jenkins began cursing and yelling and saying she had only driven there for her son.

The officer handcuffed her and put her in the back of the police car. On the way to the jail, she yelled and the officer "over and over" and said she had three glasses of wine and drove to the accident scene for her son.

At 10:29 p.m., a test showed Jenkins had a blood alcohol concentration of .17. That's above the .08 legal limit in Arkansas.

"It should be noted that Jenkins cursed and yelled for a majority of the time," the officer wrote in the report. "Often times she interrupted me during the field sobriety tests and rights form."

She told me multiple times that she was a teacher, school bus driver, and justice of the peace and I could have let her go," the officer wrote.

Jenkins was released at 5:52 a.m. today. Her next court date is scheduled for July 2nd.

Jenkins is a Democrat who represents Washington JP District 10. It comprises part of south Fayetteville and Farmington.

Jenkins was elected to the position in 2018. She defeated incumbent Robert Dennis with 2,215 votes to 2,185 votes.

Jenkins is also a 3rd grade teacher at Williams Elementary in Farmington.

She also drives a school bus. 

She probably won't be after this mess.

FEDERAL APPEALS COURTS RULES THAT SAYING "FUCK YOU" TO A POLICE OFFICER IS PROTECTED SPEECH - ARKANSAS STATE TROOPER'S RETALIATORY ACTIONS MAY COST THE STATE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS

ASP TROOPER LAGARIAN CROSS' FUCKERY MAY COST THE STATE A BUNDLE

Yelling “fuck you” at a police officer is an act of free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled on June 3rd.

“As protected speech, it should be free from retaliatory government actions,” the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals declared in a case from Fort Smith. 

The court’s decision came in an appeal of a lawsuit filed by Eric Thurairajah, who was arrested in Fort Smith back in 2015, after he yelled “fuck you” at state trooper he was driving past. At the time, Trooper Lagarian Cross was conducting a traffic stop. 

According to the court, “Trooper Cross ended the traffic stop of the van and pursued Thurairajah, stopped him, and arrested him, citing Arkansas’s disorderly conduct law.” The trooper claimed Thurairajah’s shout constituted “unreasonable or excessive noise,” and therefore violated the law. 

  

  

“Thurairajah spent several hours in jail but then was released and all charges against him were dropped,” the court wrote. 

Thurairajah filed a lawsuit, claiming the arrest had violated his rights. The state of Arkansas wanted the case to be dismissed, asserting that Trooper Cross was legitimately performing his duties, and therefore had “qualified immunity” and could not be sued for the arrest. 

A federal district court had already ruled that the qualified immunity normally enjoyed by law enforcement officers doesn’t apply in cases where an officer appears to have violated the Constitution, so Thurairajah’s lawsuit could proceed. 
 
The appeals court affirmed that decision, saying Cross’ action violated both Thurairajah’s First and Fourth Amendment rights.

Listen to a recording of the oral arguments by clicking here. The attorney for the state, Assistant Attorney General Vincent France,  flubs badly and at one point is speechless. 

ASS. ATTORNEY GENERAL VINCENT FRANCE SUCKS ON A CIGAR AS WELL AS ORAL ARGUMENTS

The next step in the case will be setting a hearing for damages.

Thurairajah’s attorney, W. Whitfield Hyman, is seeking almost $12k in fees just for the appeal filed by Trooper Cross.

Hyman has a interesting article about the case on his law firm's website. You can read it by clicking here.

 

ATTORNEY HYMAN SPEAKING TO NEWS MEDIA

We have requested a copy of Cross' personnel file and complaint/disciplinary history as well as any video from the traffic stop involved in this matter.

Stay tuned for updates.
 

WILL ASP TROOPER LAGARIAN CROSS BE HUMBLED?

VIDEO OF ABC ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR'S HIGH SPEED, RECKLESS DRIVING TRAFFIC STOP RELEASED

Related post: http://badaralcoholcontol.blogspot.com/2019/05/abc-administrative-director-blasts.html

ABC ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR BLASTS THROUGH CONSTRUCTION AREA ON I-630 - TRIES TO DITCH DOT HIGHWAY PATROL OFFICER

You can read the post on our Bad Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division blog by clicking here.

ETHICS COMMISSION SETS DATE FOR HEARING ON ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN ACTIVITY OF FAILED CHARTER SCHOOL HEAD AND CITY BOARD CANDIDATE VALERIE TATUM

You can read all about Tatum by clicking here and here.

FORMER CHARTER SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT VALERIE TATUM ACCUSED OF STEALING SCHOOL FUNDS

SCHOOL FOUNDER & FORMER HEAD VALERIE TATUM IS REPORTED TO HAVE STOLEN $188K

According to a report filed February 13th by Phong Tran, the superintendent of the now shuttered Covenant Keepers charter school, school founder and former superintendent Valerie Tatum made $188, 905.93 in unauthorized transactions from the school's checking account.

The full police report can be viewed by clicking here.

The Arkansas Department of Education revoked the schools charter in an emergency meeting on February 15th, after learning of Tatum's theft.

The school was left with $15,000 in its operating account, not quite enough for a payroll that was due on the 15th due and well short of another $44,000 owed this week for payroll, teacher retirement, food service and other costs, according to a story on the Arkansas Blog by Max Brantley.

Tatum is also reported to have recently removed furniture and equipment from the school. 

Joe Harris, chief operating officer of the Washington, D.C.-based Friendship Education Foundation, told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that Tatum, had acquired a total of $188,905.93 in three withdrawals made from U.S Bank in the past two weeks.

Friendship Education Foundation is running Covenant Keepers school this year on behalf of the City of Fire Community Development Inc., a nonprofit organization that holds the state charter that allows Covenant Keepers to operate and receive state funding.

Tatum is listed as the Agent and a director for City of Fire Community Development Inc.

When the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette asked Tatum about the allegations, Tatum declined to comment without her lawyer and would not disclose the name of her attorney.

Tatum has a sketchy history with the school and the Arkansas Department of Education.  

Tatum had been found to have been involved in self-dealing in regard to a loan she made to the school back in 2015 when the school was placed on probation.

Tatum also had some problems following state laws when she illegally ran for the Ward 2 position on the Little Rock City Board. You can read all about that on our Bad City of Little Rock blog by clicking here.

Tatum has a complaint filed against her at the Arkansas Ethics Commission for illegal campaign contributions and could face a fine of $2,500.00 and a referral for criminal charges.

You can read the ethics complaint by clicking here.

Joan Adcock, a long in the tooth at-large Little Rock City Director, was instrumental in keeping the school open back in 217 when the Department of Education was going to revoke its charter.  You can hear what she had to say in the video posted below.

Adcock has never made an appearance before the education board to plead for the return of local control of the Little Rock School District.

Adcock needs to be removed as she has long outlived her usefulness. Take a look at how she really feels about folks of color. http://badlittlerock.blogspot.com/2016/12/lr-board-of-director-joan-adcock-lone.html

Adcock once complained that SW Little Rock was becoming "little Mexico" but in order to stay in office has pandered to the Little Rock Latino community.

We wonder what old Joan thinks about her friend Tatum and the theft of funds...will old Joan stand up for her again?

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Tatum was a sorry ass administrator.  So much so that a parent filed a lawsuit against her. Tatum wanted a student to "voluntarily" leave the school for allegedly attempting to buy an iPod.

 

The lawsuit after some failed attempts by Tatum to have it dismissed was settled.

If you are curious as to why the motions to dismiss failed, it was because Tatum's lawyer failed to appear at a hearing she asked for about her motion.

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***UPDATE - 5/8/19 ***

The Arkansas Ethics Commission has finally set a date for a probable cause hearing on the illegal campaign activity of Tatum - May 17th at 9:30 a.m.

Stay tuned for updates.

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