I can’t resist a summary of a page one story in the Democrat-Gazette today (pay wall) by the unstoppable Debra Hale-Shelton.

Faulkner County created a one-man police force for the county road and bridge department. You never know when desperadoes might try to rob a dumptruck load of pea gravel. It’s so dangerous, in fact, the county purchased five guns for the officer, including two AR-15s, and thousands of rounds of ammunition, at least eight years’ worth by the law officer’s own statement.

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The police force is now without an officer. The officer was stripped of his commission by the sheriff after being named in a domestic disturbance in his home in Vilonia. He was accused of beating a woman. He said he was defending himself. No charges were filed. The woman was a friend or, in the officer’s words, “whatever you want to call it.” She apparently got upset when she entered the home and found the Faulkner County road police force in bed with a man and a woman. The woman was not the officer’s wife.

I’m often told that people flee Pulaski County for Faulkner County residency because of the greater reverence there for family values and a higher degree of safety. Be warned: Things are just a little bit less safe today with an open position on the road police.

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