Arkansas Law Enforcement Under National Scrutiny

Jim Crow elements of evil and poor law enforcement in the United States have moved the country back to the 1950s and 60s. Whether it's intentional, Black Americans' deaths have become ‘strange fruit’ hanging in trees. Law enforcement, led by Arkansas State Troopers and the Little Rock Police Department, has been busy traumatizing, assaulting, and demonstrating that their boundaries are zero and there's no more accountability, as if being racist were embarrassing. The Arkansas State Police (ASP) and other law enforcement officers will always protect each other even when they break laws.

Something disturbing happened in Arkansas during August 2026.

Actually, it happened more than once.

On August 1, Arkansas State Police Trooper Moisses Arellano stopped 18-year-old Alisa Hackett near Manila after reporting that she was traveling 71 mph in a 60-mph zone. The video shows the encounter escalating before Arellano took Hackett to the pavement and struck her in the face.

“You cannot punch me in my face,” Hackett protested.

“Who says?” the trooper responded.

Hackett, who was charged with several offenses including resisting arrest, has filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit. The nationally circulated footage has produced demands for an investigation into the force used against her.

Eight days later, Little Rock Police responded to a convenience store after a clerk reported that 23-year-old Gregory Williams had threatened to shoot him. Body-camera footage subsequently showed Officer Thomas Shook holding a firearm to Williams' head while Williams—unarmed—was lying face down and surrounded by officers.

Police searched Williams and his backpack and found no weapon. The clerk declined to press charges, Williams was released, and LRPD placed Shook on administrative leave pending an investigation.

Then came August 19.

Tedrick Washington Jr., a former Division I basketball player, was a passenger—not the driver—in an SUV involved in a dangerous high-speed pursuit. Arkansas State Police video showed Trooper Theodore Henderson breaking a rear window, grabbing Washington by his wrist and dreadlocks and attempting to pull him through the shattered opening. Reporting says Henderson struck Washington during the encounter. Washington was later charged with resisting arrest and obstruction.

Different circumstances.

Different officers.

Different allegations.

But repeatedly, Americans are being asked to watch disturbing images involving government force and Black citizens and then immediately shift the conversation toward what the citizen allegedly did.

That is precisely why Arkansas State Police Director Col. Mike Hagar's response deserves examination.

HAGAR RESPONDS

Hagar says the public should not judge troopers solely by the most disturbing moments appearing on video.

That is a reasonable caution.

But Hagar then made a much broader declaration:

“All uses of force are driven by two common denominators — unlawful activity and noncompliance.”

He continued:

“Take those two factors out of the equation, and there will be no incidents for us to explain or debate.”

That is where Arkansas should have a serious conversation.

Alleged unlawful activity and noncompliance may explain why an encounter occurred.

They do not automatically determine whether the force subsequently used was reasonable, necessary or proportional.

A person can speed.

A person can resist arrest.

A person can run.

A person can commit a serious crime.

And that person still possesses constitutional rights.

Police make arrests.

Courts determine guilt.

The roadside is not a courtroom, and an officer's fist is not a sentence.

HAGAR WOULD ISSUE A STATEMENT—BUT WOULD NOT PUBLICLY FACE THE BLACK CAUCUS

Hagar was scheduled to appear before the Arkansas Legislative Black Caucus following the Hackett controversy.

He canceled that public appearance, citing the pending litigation, while offering private discussions with caucus members or individual legislators.

Black legislators expressed frustration because they said their questions extended beyond Hackett's lawsuit to policies, procedures, standards and accountability.

That distinction matters.

Hagar could decline to discuss disputed evidence in litigation while still publicly explaining ASP's use-of-force policies, de-escalation requirements, disciplinary procedures and demographic data.

Arkansas' Black legislators have every right to ask those questions publicly.

THIS IS BIGGER THAN ASP

The Gregory Williams encounter demonstrates why Arkansas State Police cannot be examined in isolation.

Little Rock Police is under scrutiny too.

Williams was unarmed when video showed an LRPD officer holding a gun at his head.

The fact that LRPD subsequently placed the officer on administrative leave deserves acknowledgment.

But the footage also demonstrates why cameras matter.

A camera isn't anti-police.

A camera is a witness.

Sometimes the most disturbing moment on a video is not something Americans should be instructed to look beyond.

Sometimes it is precisely the moment government must explain.

AND ARKANSAS IS NOT OCCURRING IN A VACUUM

The concern extends beyond Arkansas.

On August 18 in Bainbridge, Georgia, video captured a police officer taking 71-year-old Black grandmother Patricia Tarver to the floor during an encounter at a Walmart.

Tarver said the officer twisted her around, threw her down and placed his knees into her back. Her granddaughter can be heard pleading for the officer to get off her grandmother. Tarver reportedly suffered a panic attack.

That incident occurred in Georgia, not Arkansas, but it belongs in the national conversation because it raises the same fundamental question:

WHERE IS THE DE-ESCALATION?

An 18-year-old Black woman in Arkansas.

A Black man with a gun held to his head in Little Rock.

A Black passenger pulled by his dreadlocks after a pursuit.

A 71-year-old Black grandmother taken to the floor in a Georgia Walmart.

Different states and circumstances cannot simply be combined and declared proof of racism.

But neither should Americans be afraid to ask whether Black citizens are too frequently perceived as threats requiring immediate physical domination.

EVERY BLACK MALE IS NOT A THREAT

America repeatedly tells Black communities following police controversies that not every officer is bad.

Of course, every officer isn't bad.

But reverse the conversation:

“STOP TELLING US EVERY COP ISN'T BAD. TELL THEM THAT EVERY BLACK MALE IS NOT A THREAT.” NBA Champion and All-Star Jaylen Brown

Every Black man isn't dangerous.

Every Black teenager isn't reaching for a weapon.

Every Black woman questioning an officer isn't preparing to attack.

Every Black passenger isn't responsible for the driver's actions.

Every elderly Black woman isn't a threat.

Law-enforcement officers are trained professionals. Therefore, society should expect patience, judgment, communication, restraint, and de-escalation.

And yes—sometimes grace.

RELEASE THE NUMBERS

Several videos cannot scientifically establish racial discrimination throughout Arkansas law enforcement.

Data can tell us much more.

Hagar says ASP has conducted more than one million officer-violator contacts since January 2023 and documented force in only a tiny percentage.

Then release the demographic breakdown.

Race.

Gender.

Age.

Type of force.

Injuries.

Weapons recovered.

Punches.

Tasers.

People forcibly removed from automobiles.

Complaints.

Discipline.

Terminations.

Criminal referrals.

If Black Arkansans are not disproportionately subjected to particular forms of force, let the numbers demonstrate that.

If disparities exist, confront them.

Transparency protects citizens and good police officers.

WHO POLICES THE POLICE?

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders does not need to adjudicate pending lawsuits.

But litigation does not prevent Arkansas' governor from telling every law enforcement agency under her state's authority that constitutional rights apply to the compliant and noncompliant alike.

This isn't anti-police.

It is pro-accountability.

Romans 8:31 asks:

“If God is for us, who can be against us?”

That scripture isn't a call to violence. It reminds us that governmental authority does not erase human dignity.

Citizens should lawfully record police encounters, request public records, attend legislative hearings, demand body-camera transparency, support independent investigations, and vote.

The Arkansas State Police is under scrutiny.

Little Rock Police is under scrutiny.

Black legislators are asking questions.

National audiences are watching.

Colonel Hagar says unlawful activity and noncompliance explain why these encounters begin.

Arkansas must answer the other half:

WAS THE GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE LAWFUL, NECESSARY, AND PROPORTIONAL?

People accused of crimes remain human beings.

People who resist remain human beings.

Black men remain human beings.

Black women remain human beings.

Black teenagers remain human beings.

And Black grandmothers remain human beings.

Power without accountability is dangerous.

August put Arkansas under the microscope.

Now let's see what Arkansas' leaders do this fall.

SOURCES:

• Arkansas Advocate — ASP Director Mike Hagar cancels appearance before Black lawmakers
• Arkansas Advocate — Black lawmakers frustrated by Hagar's absence from Legislative Black Caucus meeting
• KATV — LRPD officer placed on leave after holding gun to unarmed man's head
• Arkansas Advocate — Lawmakers and NAACP seek accountability after trooper punches 18-year-old Alisa Hackett

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Edmond W. Davis is one of America’s top social historians, media strategists, and professors. Davis is the founder of the National HBCU Black Wall Street Career Fest. A native of Philadelphia, PA, he, his wife, and his son currently live in Little Rock, Arkansas. area. Davis is committed to cultural empowerment and educational equity through storytelling and civic engagement. In 2026, Davis was a grand marshal at the 38th Annual African American History Month Celebration Parade, the largest in the U.S. during Black History Month. His life is told in the 2023 ‘Short Documentary of the Year' at the Black Excellence Awards, titled ‘FROM GRIND TO GROWTH: The Edmond W. Davis Story. Davis was also the courthouse jailroom deputy on the NBC TV miniseries Bluff City Law.

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