Former Police Chief Believes His Faith Played Role in Firing, Mayor Denies Claim
By: Marci Manley, KARK 4 News
Updated: September 21, 2012
"Who you rooting for? E-H-S!" a truckload of cheerleaders yell, driving by.
England, Arkansas, rooting for the Lions during a Friday football parade.
"Chief! Chief! Chief," a woman yells holding a sign on the side of the roadway.
Supporters like Jodi Campbell are rallying around another cause as well, gathering signatures in support of Former Police Chief Herman Hutton.
"I was very upset. I was very shocked," she said. "We've never had a police chief that went into our schools like he has. He's bridged every socioeconomic and racial gap in our city."
Hutton was fired by Mayor Danny Maynard earlier this week.
"We are just asking that the town of England reconsiders their actions and reinstates him as police chief ," Campbell said.
Between hugs and hellos at the parade, Hutton told KARK the only issue he had been alerted to regarding his performance as police chief was his role as a pastor in the Sunday pulpit.
"Back in January the mayor told me there were concerns in the city that my preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ had become a problem," Hutton said. "But I preach on Sundays, my day off. I put my sermons together on Saturdays, also my day off."
"Do you try to recruit followers during your time on the job?" we asked Hutton.
"No ma'am. If someone asked me about my faith, I would tell them about Jesus Christ. But I wasn't trying to bring them into my church, or get them to put money in the coffers," he said. "Being Christian is a part of who I am."
Mayor Maynard claims faith had nothing to do with why Hutton was shown the door.
"It was a personnel issue," Maynard said.
"An issue with performance?" we asked.
"It was lack of supervision of the Police Department," he said. "But I don't want to go into the details. That's something I can't do."
According to Hutton, he never received any reprimands. Maynard said he had several meetings with Hutton over the issue.
"We've met with him probably three times in the last year and a half," Maynard said.
"Can you recall when you most recently met with him," we asked.
"No, not really. Probably with the last month," the mayor responded.
Still, some in the community remain confused.
"It came out of the blue," said Melissa Brown. "We don't understand it. It makes no sense."
"There was never even a hint of discord," Campbell said. "In a small town like this, you hear if there are problems involving a public official. We never heard anything like that."
Many believe the mayor made the wrong call for the home team.
"I'm sure they do, but there's always two sides to every story and obviously they haven't seen the other side," Maynard said.
That second side, something Maynard said the public will probably never hear. And when we asked him why?
"Because they don't need to know," he said.
"But with so much confusion wouldn't you want to clear the air, especially if his termination was for legitimate reasons?" we asked.
"You can't clear the air when that many people are against you," Maynard said before walking back inside his home after thanking us for stopping by.
Hutton is planning on appealing the mayor's decision, asking for a hearing in front of the City Council. He said the letter would be delivered to the Mayor's office on Monday.
"I didn't plan on this being a stepping stone in my career. I planned to finish my career here in England," he said.
The earliest City Council meeting where he could be heard is on October 9, 2012.
England, Arkansas, rooting for the Lions during a Friday football parade.
"Chief! Chief! Chief," a woman yells holding a sign on the side of the roadway.
Supporters like Jodi Campbell are rallying around another cause as well, gathering signatures in support of Former Police Chief Herman Hutton.
"I was very upset. I was very shocked," she said. "We've never had a police chief that went into our schools like he has. He's bridged every socioeconomic and racial gap in our city."
Hutton was fired by Mayor Danny Maynard earlier this week.
"We are just asking that the town of England reconsiders their actions and reinstates him as police chief ," Campbell said.
Between hugs and hellos at the parade, Hutton told KARK the only issue he had been alerted to regarding his performance as police chief was his role as a pastor in the Sunday pulpit.
"Back in January the mayor told me there were concerns in the city that my preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ had become a problem," Hutton said. "But I preach on Sundays, my day off. I put my sermons together on Saturdays, also my day off."
"Do you try to recruit followers during your time on the job?" we asked Hutton.
"No ma'am. If someone asked me about my faith, I would tell them about Jesus Christ. But I wasn't trying to bring them into my church, or get them to put money in the coffers," he said. "Being Christian is a part of who I am."
Mayor Maynard claims faith had nothing to do with why Hutton was shown the door.
"It was a personnel issue," Maynard said.
"An issue with performance?" we asked.
"It was lack of supervision of the Police Department," he said. "But I don't want to go into the details. That's something I can't do."
According to Hutton, he never received any reprimands. Maynard said he had several meetings with Hutton over the issue.
"We've met with him probably three times in the last year and a half," Maynard said.
"Can you recall when you most recently met with him," we asked.
"No, not really. Probably with the last month," the mayor responded.
Still, some in the community remain confused.
"It came out of the blue," said Melissa Brown. "We don't understand it. It makes no sense."
"There was never even a hint of discord," Campbell said. "In a small town like this, you hear if there are problems involving a public official. We never heard anything like that."
Many believe the mayor made the wrong call for the home team.
"I'm sure they do, but there's always two sides to every story and obviously they haven't seen the other side," Maynard said.
That second side, something Maynard said the public will probably never hear. And when we asked him why?
"Because they don't need to know," he said.
"But with so much confusion wouldn't you want to clear the air, especially if his termination was for legitimate reasons?" we asked.
"You can't clear the air when that many people are against you," Maynard said before walking back inside his home after thanking us for stopping by.
Hutton is planning on appealing the mayor's decision, asking for a hearing in front of the City Council. He said the letter would be delivered to the Mayor's office on Monday.
"I didn't plan on this being a stepping stone in my career. I planned to finish my career here in England," he said.
The earliest City Council meeting where he could be heard is on October 9, 2012.
