TONTITOWN, Ark. (AP) - Tontitown officials have agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by a former police chief who was fired in January 2015.
The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (https://bit.ly/2hWz4yY ) that city aldermen agreed last week to settle the suit with former chief Kris Arthur for $30,000. The city will pay half of the settlement; the town’s insurer will pay the other half.
Arthur’s lawsuit alleged city leaders violated a local ordinance that laid out a process for firing police.
The city argued that state law gives mayors the power to fire police chiefs and added that Arkansas law supersedes an ordinance.
Arthur has been an officer at the Centerton Police Department since April 2015. He was promoted to captain this past August.
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