WHAT'S NEXT WHAT: Red Bank Board of Commissioners meeting WHEN: 7 p.m. today. WHERE: Red Bank City Hall
Regardless of how former Red Bank police chief Larry Sneed met his professional demise, several people close to the department were happy to see him fired.
"You're automatically on the defensive when you work for him," said Ernie Martin, a corporal who retired in 2006. "You were guilty until proven innocent on anything."
Former Officer Sean Shelton was more blunt.
"The man is an absolute monster," he said.
Mr. Shelton relayed stories of a chief fond of "cussing at his officers, using the f-word, and slamming doors in our faces."
The comments come nearly three weeks after Red Bank officials have only given a slim look into why Mr. Sneed was fired by City Manager Chris Dorsey on July 2.
Mr. Shelton said Mr. Sneed often used intimidation.
"He would call you into his office and just stare at you for five minutes," Mr. Shelton said. "After a while, he'd take his glasses off, stare at you some more and ask, 'Is there anything I need to know about?'"
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.
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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.
Mr. Shelton said he explored employment at the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office while working for Red Bank. The chief found out and told Mr. Shelton he "would not tolerate any officer picking up an application."
"None of that is how you run a police department," Mr. Shelton said. "We're not criminals that just got arrested for a crime."
Mr. Sneed's defenders argue that, if bad management occurred over his seven-year tenure, more than two dropped complaints would haunt the former chief's personnel file.
"I know he's old school," Commissioner Ruth Jeno said. "I think it's a job where you should run a tight ship. It's kind of like the military."
City commissioners hold their regular meeting today at 7 p.m. Nothing regarding Mr. Sneed is on the agenda, but Ms. Jeno said she expects a big crowd to speak about the former chief.
Mr. Sneed's attorneys filed a $1.5 million lawsuit last week against Red Bank and several city officials. In a recent news release, City Attorney Arnold Stulce wrote about a "significant amount of turmoil" in the department, but refused to elaborate.
City records show the department was in disarray when Mr. Sneed took over in 2003.
"Larry is not a handholder and he does not suffer fools," said Lee Davis, Mr. Sneed's attorney. "Everyone knows he had to take a strong leadership style to Red Bank."
But Mr. Shelton believes the deafening silence from the police department is the most telling part of Mr. Sneed's firing.
"If Red Bank fired their fire chief, all of those guys would walk out and say, 'There won't be a fire department until he comes back,'" he said. "Why isn't there a single police officer coming forward and saying, 'He's a wonderful chief?'"