DRUG-CASE 'PRANK' BACKFIRES ON OFFICERS

A "prank" involving the storage of drug evidence led to the resignation of
two North Little Rock police officers last week, the firing of a third and
the suspension of a fourth, Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Larry
Jegley said Thursday.

The resignations were tendered before disciplinary hearings leading to the
firing and suspension of the other officers, police said.

The two disciplined officers have appealed their punishments. Police said
the investigation concerned "procedural matters" involving the detectives'
work.

Sources familiar with the investigation said Sgt. Scott Henson and
investigator Jon Jeu resigned from the department, investigator Harold
Aydelott was fired and investigator Scott Allison was suspended for 30
days. Jegley said North Little Rock Police Chief Danny Bradley kept him
informed throughout the internal investigation into "a prank or horseplay
gone bad which involved some evidence seized in a search warrant."

The prosecutor said the investigation involves the handling of drug
evidence from a single case.

"If there is any question about the integrity of the evidence in that case,
we'll handle it in the appropriate manner," Jegley said.

The prosecutor said he intends to ask the state police to open a criminal
investigation into the matter once the civil service matter is concluded.

Police spokesman Sgt. Jim Scott said he was instructed by North Little Rock
City Attorney Paul Suskie not to release the names of the officers because
one of the men had challenged the release of that information and filed for
an opinion from the attorney general's office.

"These were good police officers, each of whom had received awards from the
department for their good police work during their careers," Scott said.
"Every one of them had been with the department a long time."

Suskie said he was awaiting an opinion from the state attorney general's
office to determine what information he could release about the officers.

In a letter to Attorney General Mark Pryor, Suskie wrote: "The officer that
was terminated has filed an appeal to the North Little Rock Civil Service
Commission and it is my understanding that the suspended officer has either
filed or is in the process of filing an appeal to the Commission."

Suskie said that because the disciplined officers had appealed their
punishments, no information about the month-long internal affairs
investigation would be released until completion of a Civil Service
Commission hearing. The officers were part of the 13-officer contingent of
narcotics detectives at the department.