A "stressed out" police officer who confronted Red Bank's mayor and criticized the city's former police chief began a 60-day leave of absence last week.
A one-paragraph memo about the decision in Red Bank personnel files mentions neither detail nor explanation, but Officer Bradley Hanon clarified his position Monday.
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.
"I'm frustrated with everything that's going on in the department," he said. "The whole situation from start to finish has been tiring."
Acting as a dysfunctional police department's "voice" became too much, said Hanon, the same officer who filed a complaint against Red Bank Mayor Joe Glasscock for a July 6 argument in the parking lot of City Hall. The altercation stemmed from ex-Red Bank police chief Larry Sneed's sudden firing.
Hanon said the mayor grabbed his arm, poked him in the chest several times and yelled, "You handled this all wrong. ... You should have come to me!"
City Attorney Arnold Stulce has written that one police officer met with several commissioners and the city manager to discuss Sneed's management style.
Red Bank City Manager Chris Dorsey said there were "many reasons" behind the officer's extended break from patrol.
"I could give a long explanation which would answer why he left," Dorsey said, "but I don't know which parts I can talk about."
Dorsey credited his silence to a $1.5 million lawsuit Sneed filed against him and three city commissioners over the firing.
Since Sneed was let go, interim Chief Dan Knight has restructured the department, despite calls from Dorsey to be "slow and steady" while the city decides how to hire a permanent law enforcement leader.
The interim chief confirmed a shift change for Hanon and several others within the last few weeks.
"When you work for a police department, you say you can work any shift," Knight said. "I have heard no problems from anybody except for Officer Hanon."
Knight said changes are "improving things" at the department, but one policeman said the strategy isn't working.
"Morale doesn't seem like it's changed," Officer Mickey Robinson said Monday.
Dorsey defended the police department moves and said they are standard.
"It's not like we're overhauling the whole department and picking it up and shaking it," Dorsey said.