Alexander Council meets tonight

The Alexander City Council will hold its monthly meeting tonight, (Monday, February 24) 6PM at city hall.

Tonight's agenda includes a decision on the long-awaited document, "Organization of City Council." This self-imposed manual, which controls how the city council functions, is supposed to be approved at the beginning of each calendar year.

However, in 2013 some of the newly elected aldermen didn't want to discuss the proposed document because it was written by the previous council. The council used the 2012 version during 2013.

Also on tonight's agenda is the appointment of a new treasurer. The city has received one application. The position has been vacant since JoAn Churchill resigned in early 2013.

Alexander council approves lawyer fee

The Alexander City Council has approved paying a $3,000 attorney fee to fight a federal lawsuit filed by Jacquelyn Wallace, the mother of 30-year-old Carleton Wallace. In a unanimous vote the council also agreed the money should come out of the police department fund. The decision was made during a special meeting held Wednesday evening, February 12, 2014.

Carleton Wallace died Sept. 8, 2012 after he was shot by Alexander police officer Nancy Cummings while she attempted to handcuff him. In October, 2013 a Saline County jury found Cummings innocent of manslaughter.

The money is needed to pay the Arkansas Municipal League to represent the city in the lawsuit. This type of spending was not included in the recent spending freeze approved by the city council.

The incident occurred on Brookwood Drive, just west of Lindsey Drive in Alexander. While patrolling the area Cummings saw Wallace walking, shirtless with a gun in the waistband of his pants.

In a recorded interview played during the trial, Cummings said she got out of her car and pulled her pistol on Wallace after he refused to remove both hands from his pockets as instructed. When he reached behind his back for a gun she pulled her gun and told him to drop his. After he threw his gun into the nearby woods Cummings said she ordered him to place his hands on the hood of her patrol truck. When he refused she kept her gun drawn as she tried to pat him down and handcuff him, but he resisted.

According to Cummings Wallace turned around to face the street, causing her to step behind him, when her gun accidentally went off. She then radioed a 911 dispatcher to report the shooting.

In the lawsuit documents Jacquelyn Wallace alleges that Police Chief Horace Walters has a widespread and customary practice of failing to train, vet and supervise officers, that the decision to place an untrained officer in a position to use deadly force “should be considered a conscious and deliberate choice.” Walters resigned recently over other issues.

Cummings was still a rookie at the time of the shooting. She started working for Alexander on Jan. 30, 2012, and was scheduled to attend the police academy in January, 2013. Under Arkansas law, she was allowed to work as a police officer as long as she completed the state’s certification process within a year of being hired. She resigned from the department a short time after the shooting.

Prior to working for Alexander she was a sergeant in the state prison system, working in Wrightsville, where she didn’t handle a gun, and her only firearms training consisted of target practice, according to testimony at the trial.

The lawsuit also alleges Cummings violated Carleton Wallace's civil rights by using excessive, unnecessary and unreasonable force.

The lawsuit was filed against the City of Alexander, Nancy Cummings and Horace Walters.

Dollar General store open

The new Dollar General store has opened in the City of Alexander. The store is next to the post office along Highway 111.

Alexander Mayor calls special council meeting tonight

Mayor Michelle Hobbs has called a special meeting of the Alexander City Council for tonight, (Wednesday, February 12, 2014) at 6pm. The meeting will be held in the city hall courtroom.

It is expected the mayor will ask aldermen to approve spending $3,000 towards a federal lawsuit filed by Jacquelyn Wallace, the mother of 30-year-old Carleton Wallace. Wallace died Sept. 8, 2012 after he was shot by Officer Nancy Cummings while she attempted to handcuff him. In October, 2013 a Saline County jury found Cummings innocent of manslaughter.

The money is needed to pay the Arkansas Municipal League to represent the city in the lawsuit. This type of spending was not included in the recent spending freeze approved by the city council.

The incident occurred on Brookwood Drive, just west of Lindsey Drive in Alexander. While patrolling the area Cummings saw Wallace walking, shirtless with a gun in the waistband of his pants.

In a recorded interview played during the trial, Cummings said she got out of her car and pulled her pistol on Wallace after he refused to remove both hands from his pockets as instructed. When he reached behind his back for a gun she pulled her gun and told him to drop his. After he threw his gun into the nearby woods Cummings said she ordered him to place his hands on the hood of her patrol truck. When he refused she kept her gun drawn as she tried to pat him down and handcuff him, but he resisted.

According to Cummings Wallace turned around to face the street, causing her to step behind him, when her gun accidentally went off. She then radioed a 911 dispatcher to report the shooting.

In the lawsuit documents Jacquelyn Wallace alleges that Police Chief Horace Walters has a widespread and customary practice of failing to train, vet and supervise officers, that the decision to place an untrained officer in a position to use deadly force “should be considered a conscious and deliberate choice.” Walters resigned recently over other issues.

Cummings was still a rookie at the time of the shooting. She started working for Alexander on Jan. 30, 2012, and was scheduled to attend the police academy in January, 2013. Under Arkansas law, she was allowed to work as a police officer as long as she completed the state’s certification process within a year of being hired. She resigned from the department a short time after the shooting.

Prior to working for Alexander she was a sergeant in the state prison system, working in Wrightsville, where she didn’t handle a gun, and her only firearms training consisted of target practice, according to testimony at the trial.

The lawsuit also alleges that after shooting Carleton Wallace in the back, causing him to fall into a grassy ditch near her police truck, Cummings “failed to offer any assistance” to Wallace.

The lawsuit was filed against the City of Alexander, Nancy Cummings and Horace Walters.