Fort Smith Times Record
Just days after the Derek Chauvin verdict, where police did not deescalate the situation, two Fort Smith Police Department officers were recognized for doing the right thing and saving a man s life in the process.
When Officers Clinton Shown and Colby Edwards responded to a domestic disturbance with weapons call on April 10, they were not sure what to expect. Upon arrival, they discovered a man was in a mental crisis and threatening to harm himself and the toddler in the house if the officers would not shoot him on the spot.
Edwards arrived first and was able to get the woman and one of the children out of the house, but soon after Shown arrived, they learned there was another child in the house. The man was expressing his desire to die and was holding a large knife.
Fort Smith Times Record
Of the approximately 25 Fort Smith police employees that received the second COVID-19 vaccine this week, Daniel Vaught was unique.
Back in August, the officer was hospitalized for COVID-19, missing more than a month of work. He had pneumonia in both lungs and eight days in the hospital.
Vaught understands first-hand what it is like to have a severe case of COVID-19 and therefore was more than willing to receive the vaccine. He said the first dose did not impact his health and he does not expect the second dose to either. I can t say how the vaccine will impact everyone, Vaught said. But I can say how it will impact someone who has had COVID.
Times Record
The Fort Smith Police Department has evolved its meter enforcement position into the city s first downtown ambassador to address vagrancy, direct resources and provide a community presence to stakeholders of downtown Fort Smith.
Jon Raspberry, who has worked as the police department s meter enforcer since 2018, has been chosen to fill the role. The new position fills the needs of the police department and the Central Business Improvement District Commission.
Belle Starr Antiques owner Beth Price, who has previously been outspoken about vagrancy in downtown Fort Smith, said Raspberry is a much needed point of contact for downtown business owners and residents.
Times Record
Enhanced 911 services and more supervisory personnel will be added to Fort Smith s dispatch services in 2021.
The city has approved more than $1.8 million to fund a computer-aided dispatch and records management system for the Fort Smith police and fire departments and round-the-clock dispatch supervision for the Police Department. The Fort Smith police and fire chiefs say these measures will enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the services provided to citizens while also improving the workplace environment.
These dispatch improvements will be paid out of the roughly $3.4 million the city received in CARES Act appropriations.
About $1.5 million of the money will go toward the computer-aided dispatch system, which Fire Chief Phil Christensen said pushes the city s dispatch services into next-generation 911. The Fire Department s dispatch system has not been replaced since 1997.
Stolen plates and cars connected in Fort Smith swtimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from swtimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.