Concerns with the Sebastian County Sheriff’s office

The recently-surfaced video showing the potential maltreatment of a Sebastian County Jail inmate, and a subsequent statement about the troubling incident from interim Sheriff Mike Conger point to the need for more than just an investigation of the matter.

John Cole on May 9, 2025, was held down and beaten by Sebastian County Sheriff deputies after he stabbed two deputies and bit a third deputy. Let’s be clear: Cole is not a nice guy. He is a convicted murderer who violently attacked the deputies while being extradited from Arizona to Arkansas to face murder charges in Arkansas. Cole, according to the sheriff’s office, attempted to use the video to extort $10 million from the county.

Following is part of a statement from the sheriff’s office about the incident.

“On May 9, 2025, Cole attacked two deputies with a foot-long sharpened spike he had fashioned from a mop bucket. He stabbed one deputy through the lung and heart and continued stabbing both men. One deputy nearly died and survived only after emergency medical care. To stop the attack and protect their own lives, deputies struck Cole with a radio and brought him to the ground.

“Cole was then taken to the jail’s medical unit so his injuries could be assessed. There, while staff worked around him, he bit down savagely on one deputy’s arm and refused to let go. Deputies used closed-hand strikes to force him to release the deputy. That moment — the bite that provoked the strikes — is precisely what Cole’s edited video conceals. The video he posted carries a redaction that was originally placed to protect the medical privacy of people in the medical bay; Cole has used it to hide the context of his own attack.

“A medical examination after the strikes found that Cole’s only injuries were bruising, cuts and swelling consistent with the force used to stop his two separate attempts to murder and attack sheriff deputies that day. There was no compound fracture and no serious injury, contrary to the claims in his lawsuit. The only people who required serious medical treatment were the two deputies Cole stabbed and the deputy he bit. Cole later pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder — one for each deputy he attacked — and was sentenced to 200 years in prison.”

The Arkansas State Police (ASP) is investigating the incident.

There are several concerns about the incident and Conger’s response.

First, the video only came to light as part of lawsuit against the county. What other incidents do we not know about, and why is there no body-cam footage of the incident?

Second, Sheriff Conger noted in a statement about the incident, “My deputies didn’t do anything wrong,” and the department has “nothing to hide.” The troubling video makes it difficult to accept either claim at face value. Maybe a better, more thoughtful statement would have been, “We understand there are legitimate concerns about this video, and as part of our desire to maintain and foster public trust we have asked the Arkansas State Police to investigate the matter. In the meantime, we will review our protocols and reinforce with all deputies our rules mandating the responsible and respectful care of all people with whom we interact.”

Was a use-of-force review conducted after the incident? Was there an internal review? Many law enforcement agencies have a duty-to-intervene policy requiring officers to stop another officer or officers who abuse people in their custody. Does the county have such a policy? (Talk Business & Politics made several attempts to seek more info about the department’s actions. The department did not respond.)

Also, the incident follows the deeply troubling death in 2021 of Larry Price, who was mentally ill, while being held in the Sebastian County Jail. The county would end up paying $3 million to settle its part of a $6 million lawsuit filed by Price’s family. Catherine Fontenot, a corrections officer from Louisiana who was asked to review the case, said Price’s treatment at the hands of Sebastian County officials and Turn Key Health was “cruel and inhumane.” Wyatt McIntyre, the incoming county sheriff, was part of jail leadership when Price was allowed to die.

Following the horrific Price death, neither the county nor the sheriff’s department provided an after-action report, or issued statements about findings from any thorough internal review. Also, according to our knowledge, there was not an independent review. There was not a resolution called for or approved by the Sebastian County Quorum Court after paying the $3 million settlement requiring actions or policies reducing the chances of a similar future tragic death and settlement.

Sebastian County residents would likely say they much appreciate the men and women of the county’s law enforcement agencies who deal each day with bad people and tough situations, and are grateful for what they do to keep us safe and secure.

Those same folks, however, might also note that the agencies should operate in a humane, ethical manner that allow us to trust in and have respect for a key part of our criminal justice system.

The ASP investigation focuses only on the Cole incident. The county’s leadership, especially the Quorum Court, may want to hire a third-party to conduct an independent review of the policies, practices, leadership and culture of the department. Not seeking an objective review of the department at some point suggests deliberate indifference.

The sheriff’s department notes that it is “dedicated to the citizens of this county.” If that is indeed true, they shouldn’t mind a healthy dose of public assurance about their dedication. How we treat the mentally ill and the convicted is a glimpse into how we treat everyone.