The Ypsilanti Courier
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Police chief finalist defends rocky past
Clark was terminated after sexual harassment complaints
By Kathleen Conat, Special Writer
PUBLISHED: August 24, 2006
Nathaniel Clark, a finalist for the position of Ypsilanti Chief of Police, was fired as chief of police in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, according to documents and interviews.
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His termination came on August 13, 2002, after an investigation by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) looked into complaints of sexual harassment, according to confidential sources within the Pine Bluff Police Department and the Pine Bluff community. The EEOC report had not recommended firing, although it had found reasonable cause to file a sexual harassment complaint.
The Pine Bluff Civil Service Commission (CSC) voted 3-2, along racial lines, to fire Clark, who is black. At the same time, it rehired Assistant Police Chief Daniel Moses, who had been fired by Clark earlier that same day. Moses, who is also black, went on to succeed Clark as chief.
According to Thelma Walker, who was, at the time, chairwoman of the CSC and is now an alderwoman on the Pine Bluff City Council, Clark's firing was politically motivated.
"There is a lot of politics in police and fire departments. Nathaniel Clark stayed away from the cliques. He followed the rules and regulations, not what someone told him to do. Some people didn't like that," she said.
Walker characterized Clark as being caught in the crossfire of different political factions. "Too many people wanted to run the city. They all wanted to be in control," she said.
Clark's termination sparked controversy in the city of approximately 55,000 residents. It divided the city council, where one alderman introduced an ordinance proposal to reinstate Clark, even though the council had no standing, by law, to hire or fire police chiefs.
Within weeks, a coalition of black leaders, including members of the NAACP and local church ministers, urged boycotts of Pine Bluff businesses to protest the firing. At other times, members of the black community marched and prayed outside of City Hall while the council met to discuss Clark's possible reinstatement.
The exact number of complaints against Clark is unknown, as a call to the Pine Bluff CSC was not returned by publication time. But, the official web site of the Pine Bluff Police Department states there were 24 complaints in the last four months of Clark's tenure with the department.
"There was lawsuit after lawsuit, all set up by the city attorney," Walker said. She characterized the lawsuits as a way for some of the officers to get promotions they did not deserve.
The status of all the complaints is also unknown; however, a confidential source, close to the investigation within the Pine Bluff Police Department, said two female command officers received their promotions as part of their settlements with the city and other complaints had been settled and the officers had left the department.
The source also revealed the department's chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police had voted overwhelming against supporting Clark and in favor of Moses becoming chief. The source said animosity toward Clark within the department runs high - even four years later.
The confidential source went on to add that, during Clark's tenure, the EEOC had stopped investigating individual complaints and had issued an automatic approval of complainants' right to sue. The source stated the complaints, which the source said numbered "more than a dozen," were all settled out of court.
Ray King, police reporter of the Pine Bluff Commercial daily newspaper, confirmed the settlements the city made with those who filed complaints. He, too, could not give a specific number of complaints, but said there were "many."
King said one complainant, Dana "Suzy" Powell, had been promoted from lieutenant to deputy chief as part of her settlement with the city. Powell also received $20,000 for mental anguish and $10,000 in attorney fees. King said Powell had been known for helping other women in the police department file sexual harassment suits against Clark.
King said another complainant had been promoted to lieutenant as part of her settlement. The settlements were brokered with aid from the Arkansas Municipal League, which paid most of the monetary compensations.
Clark denies he ever sexually harassed any of his officers or staff. "I was wrongfully discharged. The allegations were unfounded and the people are no longer in the department. Based on what I was told, these complaints were dismissed," he said in a recent telephone interview.
Walker stands by Clark, regardless of the EEOC report presented to the CSC recommended. "He's a good man, with strong moral values. A good leader. If it's wrong, he's not going to do it."
In October 2002, an appeal of the Civil Service Commission's termination was dismissed in Jefferson County (Arkansas) Circuit Court on a technicality. On June 26, 2003, the Supreme Court of Arkansas delivered an opinion supporting the lower court's dismissal of the appeal.
On November 17, 2003, Clark filed a race discrimination suit in U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. In that suit, Clark said he was the target of a plot by city officials to terminate him because of his race. In the suit, Clark asked for reinstatement to the position of police chief, back pay and compensatory damages.
Listed as defendants in the suit were the City of Pine Bluff; its then-mayor, Dutch King; the Pine Bluff Civil Service Commission and Commissioners Ron Turchi, Robert Atkinson and John Hague; City Attorney Carol Billings; and the Pine Bluff Police Department.
That lawsuit was settled in October of last year. The settlement rescinded the termination and Clark was allowed to retire from the Pine Bluff Police Department. He also received $62,500, the amount paid being divided between the city and the Arkansas Municipal League.
"My firing was rescinded," Clark said, "…and I retired. My paperwork for retirement was sent to the state."
When the police chief position in Pine Bluff became available in October of last year, however, Clark applied for it. According to sources within the department, Clark was not among the three finalists for the position.
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