Tuesday, August 10, 2010
A $1.5 million lawsuit against Red Bank has been amended after inconsistencies were found in its first version.
Filed on behalf of Red Bank police Officer Bradley Hanon, the lawsuit first said that police department policy was violated in the case of a car accident involving a Red Bank police lieutenant. The new lawsuit abandons that line of attack and now argues that department policy "contradicts or otherwise confuses" the issue of when Red Bank officers should take post-accident drug tests.
Attorney Robin Flores, who's representing Hanon, changed the wording of the lawsuit after the Chattanooga Times Free Press alerted him to an inconsistency. During that conversation, Flores declined to say whether he read the police policy manual before drafting the lawsuit. An hour later, Flores phoned the Times Free Press to say he had amended the lawsuit.
On Thursday, Hanon filed a lawsuit, claiming the city and several officials retaliated against him after he exposed alleged misconduct.
At the start of 2014, the team behind Big Orange announced plans to open a brewery, and then were able to make it happen before the end of the year. Officially opened the weekend before Christmas, here are a few things to know before you visit Lost Forty Brewing, a Q&A with the head brewer, and a photo tour of the facility. (Oh, and also this year, Big Orange — along with liquor stores around the state — began filling growlers.)
Diamond Bear Brewing Co. moved it's headquarters from Little Rock to North Little Rock this year (and now they offer food!). Also new to DB in 2014? Southern Blonde in can form.
We held our first-ever Sync Craft Beer Tournament, narrowing a field of 32 regional beers down to 16, eight, four and then finally a winner. (Here's a recap of how we picked which beers to include, in case you're wondering.)
In April, there was noise of new brews making their way to Arkansas shelves. Local distillery Rock Town had similar news as its rum hit local shelves shortly after. This year also saw the ABC working to catch up with the boom of craft breweries in the state in terms of regulation.
Two independent brewers — Matt Foster and Josiah Moody — kept us up-to-date on what their recent endeavors in the world of brewing, and nanobrewery Stone's Throw Brewing celebrated its anniversary with news of expansion.
It was actually late last year that Joel Antunes hinted about big changes at Ashley's, and this year saw those changes come to life in the form of One Eleven at the Capital. Updates worth getting excited about: a predictably still-delicious menu and a new wine program.
In the fall, more breweries: news of a River Market brewery. One of Blue Canoe's brewers, Laura Berryhill, is one of the few females currently behind craft-beer production in the state.
Speaking of the River Market, Boscos closed, and soon after, Damgoode Pies announced plans to fill the space with an eatery and its first brewery. Plus, Raimondo Family Winery announced that it'd be moving its production facility and tasting room to downtown Little Rock.
Along Main Street, Maduro owner Michael Peace closed his cigar bar and reopened the spot as a speakeasy called 109 & Co. And lastly, down the street, Samantha's Tap Room — set to open in early 2015 — released a first look at its menu.
Plus, it's worth noting that in November, voters elected to make alcohol sales legal in Saline County.
What a year, right?
Bonus: Take our quiz on where to drink in the metro.
According to Hanon's lawsuit and police records, a Red Bank police lieutenant crashed his car within city limits on June 8. An accident report shows Red Bank handled the investigation and never made the lieutenant take a drug test, two facts the original 14-page lawsuit characterized as "police misconduct."
The lawsuit maintained that Red Bank handled the investigation incorrectly, saying its policy handbook mandated an outside investigation and a drug test for all accidents involving city employees.
But a look into Red Bank's employee policy handbook reveals no such thing. Drug tests are required only in cases of "significant property, environmental damage or significant personal injury" and only when a collision "results in a fatality or injury requiring immediate hospitalization of any party" should an outside police department investigate.
"Both parties advised that (they) never felt the other hit each other," the June 8 accident report states. "No injuries were reported."
When pressed about the discrepancy, Flores said all the information came from his client.
"That's the client's position and that's what he's sticking with," Flores said. "I don't waste my time with cases that are just crap."
The newly amended lawsuit accuses the police department of requiring Hanon and another officer to take drug tests after two "minor accidents" that were investigated by outside agencies.
The lawsuit does not offer dates for those accidents, and Red Bank officials were unable to provide property damage reports Monday afternoon.
Hanon said that, in his seven years working the Red Bank police beat, officers got drug tests but those in leadership positions did not.
"It's a double standard," Hanon said. "You don't want an agency investigating their own accidents. You have to stay unbiased for the public."
According to the lawsuit, Hanon's supervisors plotted against him for notifying Red Bank commissioners about the issue.
Hanon filed his lawsuit one month after ex-Red Bank police chief Larry Sneed sued the city for $1.5 million, claiming a political conspiracy motivated his sudden dismissal.
Red Bank City Attorney Arnold Stulce did not return calls seeking comment Monday afternoon.