Keith Humphrey: Reformist Little Rock police chief suspended for shooting WRONG woman
The Police Chief of the Little Rock Police Department (LRPD) has been suspended as of January 2, 2021, after he was involved in the shooting of a civilian in the city. According to reports, Cheif Keith Humphrey shot and injured 22-year-old Kelecia Mayo while responding to another shooting in the parking lot of a store on December 30, 2021. Given his role, the investigation has been taken over by the Arkansas State Police, while Assistant Chief Crystal Young-Haskins has been promoted to Acting Cheif.
Humphrey's shooting incident comes just days after former Minnesota police officer Kim Potter was found guilty of killing Duante Wright in April 2021. The verdict made Potter only the second cop to be found guilty by a jury of police brutality after Derek Chauvin was historically convicted for killing George Floyd. Those verdicts came on the back of over 1,000 people being killed by police in 2021. In the most recent high-profile example, a 14-year-old girl was fatally shot by LAPD after cops responded to a live shooter situation in North Hollywood on December 23.
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According to reports, Humprehy responded to an altercation at the parking lot that led the suspect Taz Hayes to fire into a crowd. Instead of hitting Hayes though, Humprehy shot Mayo who was taken to the hospital in critical condition. As of January 2, her condition has improved to stable. Hayes was apprehended a while later by police and is now being held on a first-degree battery charge.
Who is Keith Humphrey?
The veteran law enforcement professional has been a police officer since 1988 when he first joined the City of Fort Worth Police Department. From there, he moved to the City of Arlington (TX) Police Department, where he was first made Sergeant in 2000, then Commander in 2005. Then in 2008, he was named the Chief of Police in Lancaster, Texas. From there, Humphrey moved to Norman, Oklahoma in 2011 and then to Little Rock in 2019.
As Little Rock's chief, Humphrey has overseen some major changes to the department like instituting a Citizens Police Review Board, banning chokeholds, developing a new Internal Affairs process, and a new Departmental Nepotism Policy to name a few. He's also credited with establishing an LBGTQ Community Liaison Division and expanding the Freedom of Information Unit staffing to accommodate requests for Body-Worn Camera video.
According to the LRPD website, Humprhey has also mentored 10 officers who have gone on to become chiefs at various departments nationwide. Along with his police work, Humphrey is also an adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma, Langston University, and Argosy University, as well as an instructor for the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association. Reportedly, he is also a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School Strategies for Building and Leading Diverse Organizations and the Leadership in Police Organizations Program.
Despite being such a decorated veteran, not everyone has been on board with Humphrey's reforms. A December 2021 article notes he has been "targeted by the police union and other old-guard officials" with complaints of a hostile work environment, unjust retaliation, and sexual harassment. However, interviews and documents show "that many of these accusations do not stand up to factual or legal scrutiny." In fact, Humprehy was subjected to an outside investigation in 2021, which ended without him facing any action.
Often dubbed a "reformist", Humphrey has been at the center of a battle between Black and White officers at LRPD, which is reportedly mirroring battles playing out all over the nation. It's unclear how the suspension will play into the battle, especially given that Humphrey countersued the Little Rock Fraternal Order of Police in 2020. While the case was dismissed, it left relations between him and the union worse than before.