The official statement issued by Fordyce Police Chief Chad Hubanks on January 3rd, 2025, regarding the unjustified use of force by a Fordyce police officer against a minor at Millcreek Behavioral Health on 12/18/23, does not demonstrate accountability. We encourage the public to read Disability Rights Arkansas’s letter to Fordyce PD outlining the full scope of concerns related to this incident. We also encourage the public to demand better from their local officials and law enforcement agencies.
Two of the officers involved resigned for personal reasons more than seven months after the incident. The officer who struck the child (offending officer) was given the option to resign in lieu of termination nine months after the incident. With the exception of the three-day suspension he received following the first internal investigation, he continued his duties as an officer. He was also able to gain employment at another local law enforcement agency following his resignation.
On 5/31/24 Chief Hubanks indicated to Disability Rights Arkansas that he considered the issue resolved. He had completed an internal investigation and following its conclusion, suspended the offending officer for 3 days and required him to undergo use-of-force training with a Fordyce Lieutenant. The two officers who wrote false statements were “written up.”
At this time, Chief Hubanks maintained that the offending officer attempted to perform an approved move, a brachial plexus nerve stun, and he missed due to the minor being combative, stating,
“He tried to do a stun, and I don’t think it came out quite like he intended it to, and it looked more like a slap. So, regarding that, that’s the reason we went ahead and disciplined him with three days suspension and use of force training.”
When asked about the offending officer’s rank, Chief Hubanks stated,
“With him being a Sergeant, that should not have happened. He should have been setting an example. This is all the situation that I’m aware of. If it’s such a bad situation that he should be disciplined where we pull rank from him. I mean, one instance since he’s been in law enforcement where he’s had anything happen, I mean, I’m not going to sit and punish the guy and take his rank over something
like this. This is something that he’s learned and gotten more schooling on, and he’s wised up.”
The offending officer not only retained his rank but was promoted to Lieutenant sometime after this incident.
The timeline below highlights the extended time period over which this incident and any responsive action from Fordyce PD or the Arkansas Office of Law Enforcement Standards and Training occurred. Although these officers are no longer employed at Fordyce PD, there is currently nothing stopping them from being employed at any law enforcement agency. Concerns raised by this incident related to the lack of a formal policy on body-worn camera use, failure to call the child abuse hotline by anyone at Fordyce PD with knowledge of the incident, failure to cooperate with the maltreatment investigation, the demonstrated lack of knowledge related to interacting with individuals that may be experiencing a mental health crisis, and the overall aggressive and abusive demeanor of the offending officer, that he was comfortable displaying in front of numerous Millcreek and detention center staff, have never been addressed.
Timeline
12/18/23 – Incident in which officer struck minor in the face while restrained in the back of the police vehicle.
01/2024 – DRA was notified of an allegation made by the child in which he stated that he was hit by a Fordyce PD officer.
1/29/24 – DRA submitted a FOIA request to Fordyce PD for the body cam footage.
DRA contacted Fordyce PD 10 additional times to obtain the body cam footage.
The offending officer was the person responding to multiple of these requests and stated in April that Fordyce PD was awaiting redaction software to redact the minor’s face before releasing the video under FOIA.
5/22/24 – DRA requested the video under our Federal Access Authority.
5/28/24 – Body camera footage was provided to DRA by Fordyce PD.
5/30/24 – DRA filed a complaint with the Arkansas Office of Law Enforcement Standards and Training.
5/31/24 – DRA interviewed Fordyce Police Chief Chad Hubanks.
- He stated he was aware of the incident that occurred on 12/18/23 and, after reviewing the video footage, the offending officer was suspended for 3 days and required to undergo use-of-force training provided by a Fordyce Lt.
- He agreed that the other two officers present at the scene were dishonest about witnessing the offending officer hit the minor and were written up.
- The offending officer did not turn on his body camera during the incident. However, Chief Hubanks stated that sometimes, police “forget to turn on” their BWC but that they are “supposed to be activated every call.”
- Stated he was unsure if anyone at the PD had contacted the Child Abuse Hotline regarding the incident.
6/20/24 – DRA was contacted by Law Enforcement Standards and Training Deputy Director Eric Wacaster, who stated that they were investigating the complaint made by DRA.
6/21/24 – Body cam footage obtained by DRA was submitted to Law Enforcement Standards and Training
6/24/24 – DRA sent letter to Chief Hubanks outlining continued concerns.
8/5/24 – Offending officer is pictured with Chief Hubanks posted on the Fordyce PD Facebook page.
8/5/24 – Officer #1 who wrote a false statement put in his 2-week notice.
8/6/24 – Law Enforcement Standards and Training stated that they were still investigating the incident.
9/5/24 – Chief Hubanks spoke with City Attorney Michael Frey, he instructed Chief Hubanks to conduct an internal investigation into whether or not the offending officer told one of the officers to place the failed brachial plexus stun in his narrative.
9/10/24 – The internal investigation showed that Officer #2 who wrote the false narrative had consulted with and been advised by the offending and superior ranking officer regarding what to include in his narrative. On the advice of the city attorney, the officer who wrote the false statement was suspended without pay for 5 days and ordered to attend 24 hours of training on use of force and de-escalation, and all Fordyce PD officers were assigned 12 additional hours of use of force and de-escalation training, to be completed before 10/1/24.
At this time Chief Hubanks advised the offending officer that his actions “would not be tolerated and that this was unethical behavior.” He then allowed the offending officer to immediately resign.
11/11/24 – Offending officer is among those who received an Invictus Award for the Fordyce PD’s response to the Mad Butcher shooting. He is listed as a Deputy at the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office. https://dps.arkansas.gov/law-enforcement/clest/about-clest/invictus-award/
11/13/24 – Division of Law Enforcement Standards and Training found probable cause to move forward to a hearing on Chief Chad Hubanks’ request for decertification of the offending officer.
An edited video of the incident was released on Dec. 10, 2024, on DRA’s social pages and YouTube.
