UAFS: No laws, policies violated in campus police issues

University of Arkansas at Fort Smith Chancellor Paul Beran issued a statement Tuesday (Aug. 31) about a campus controversy involving potential wrongful termination and misuse of a weapon by a UAFS police officer.

Beran said university officials “found after extensive discovery that nothing whatsoever has been substantiated that reflects a violation of the law or that falls outside the guidelines of acceptable legal behavior and actions of a university police department.”

The story first broke Aug. 27 from documents obtained by The City Wire through the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. The documents indicated at least four incidents and issues facing UAFS officials:
• The alleged wrongful termination of former UAFS patrol officer Mike Burcham;
• An allegation that a UAFS patrol officer was given a weapon and ammunition with no prior police training or qualification on a gun range;
• An allegation that a UAFS patrol officer was sitting inside the UAFS “troop room” and was pulling the trigger of a gun — without the ammo clip — aimed at a wall; and,
• The issue of an August 2001 restraining order issued against Kevin Thiele requiring him to stay away from his ex-wife and children. Thiele was hired by UAFS in April 2003, and now serves as the chief of the UAFS campus police.

According to a May 3 letter from Burcham attorney Kevin Holmes, Burcham was fired on April 19 because Thiele said he was “not a good fit.” Burcham, who has 21 years in law enforcement and 7 years with the University of Arkansas police force, began with the UAFS police force in April 2009. Burcham, 41, lives in Van Buren, and sought the job to avoid the daily commute to Fayetteville.

Burcham has since filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Holmes expects EEOC action within six months. The action could include mediation or a “right-to-sue” letter from the EEOC. The letter, Holmes explained, does not imply Burcham would or would not have a legitimate claim, but is part of the process in which Burcham could then seek relief in a state or federal court.

Matthew McCoy, associate general counsel for the University of Arkansas system, said the university did not know of Thiele’s restraining order when he was hired in 2003, and only learned of it when Holmes sent the May 3 letter.

Following is the complete statement from Beran.
"When allegations about the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith Police Department began to appear, university administration first responded by contacting the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training and asked that professional state organization to come onto campus for an audit of the training and preparation of officers in the UA Fort Smith Police Department. The department emerged from that audit with 96.7 % compliance with state standards of training and preparation for its nine active officers.

"With that said, we know that just meeting minimum standards is not good enough for UA Fort Smith. We will adopt national best practices for University Police as they serve almost 1,000 full-time residents on campus, an academic venture that is in session seven days a week, and an increasing number of visitors and community members on our campus year round. Through additional training, mentorship, and leadership programs, the university will maintain its reputation as a safe place for students, faculty, staff, and university visitors to live, work, and learn."