Ark. Code Ann. » Title 14 Chapter 52
Arkansas Code Annotated

Ark. Code Ann. § 14-52-101 (2020)

Authorized in cities

✓ Arkansas Code release r76: Acts through about 2020 (2021-2025 sessions missing)
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The city council shall have power to establish a city police department, to organize it under the general superintendence of the mayor, and to prescribe its duties and define its powers in such manner as will most effectually preserve the peace of the city, secure the citizens thereof from personal violence, and safeguard their property from fire and unlawful depredations.

History. Acts 1875, No. 1, § 6, p. 1; C. & M. Dig., § 7594; Pope's Dig., § 9680; Acts 1983, No. 501, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, § 19-1701.

Case Notes

Applicability

While the day-to-day duties of the chief of police and other officers of the police department in a city of the first and second class are under the direction and general superintendence of the mayor, the city council prescribes the police department's duties and defines its powers, i.e., makes the police department's policy. Brinkley v. City of Helena-West Helena, No. 2:11-cv-00207-SWW, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116592 (E.D. Ark. Aug. 21, 2014).

Authority to establish police department policy in a city of the first (or second) class generally resides with the city council; the city council, not the former mayor, was the final policymaker for the City's police department when an former police officer allegedly applied excessive force in arresting plaintiff. Brinkley v. City of Helena-West Helena, No. 2:11-cv-00207-SWW, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116592 (E.D. Ark. Aug. 21, 2014).

Cited: Conner v. Burnett, 216 Ark. 559, 226 S.W.2d 984 (1950).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 4 cases (3 in the last 5 years), 2020–2026 · leading case: Long v. Smith, No. 2:19-cv-00061 (E.D. Ark. Mar. 28, 2022).
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Long v. Smith, No. 2:19-cv-00061 (E.D. Ark. Mar. 28, 2022). · cites it 2× “198 At the time of the events challenged in this case, Arkansas Code Annotated section 14-52-101 had this to say about cities of the first class: The city council shall have power to establish a city police department, to organize it under the general superintendence of the…”
Est. of De'Angelo Brown v. West, No. 3:20-cv-00099 (E.D. Ark. Mar. 30, 2022). · cites it 2× “See Ark. Code Ann. § 14-52-101 . The WMPD policy regarding police pursuits provides that “those making decisions to initiate or terminate a pursuit should consider the nature of the offense, the time of day, an evaluation of weather, traffic conditions, geography, and…”
Pulliam, No. 2:24-cv-00148 (E.D. Ark. Jan. 16, 2026). · cites it 2× “21, 2014) (while the police department is under the direction of the mayor it does not necessarily render the mayor the final policy maker for the police department); Ark. Code Ann. § 14-52-101 (the city council shall have power to establish a city police department and…”
Thorpe v. Webb, No. 5:18-cv-05052 (W.D. Ark. Mar. 31, 2020). “§ 14-52-101 (“The city council shall have the power to establish a city police department .”
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