LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Little Rock police chief has promoted a 23-year veteran of the department to become the first female assistant chief in the agency’s 149-year history.
Capt. Alice Fulk was promoted Thursday to replace Assistant Chief Eric Higgins, who left the department in February after 30 years, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (https://bit.ly/1Hi3tyS ) reported. Fulk had been an administrator in the major-crimes division.
She filed a lawsuit against the department, a former police chief and the city after being denied a promotion to assistant chief in 2012. The lawsuit argued that she didn’t get the job because she was a woman and that a “glass ceiling” existed at the department.
“I think that I’ve pushed through that glass ceiling,” she told the newspaper Thursday.
She said she wasn’t sure whether she would continue with the lawsuit.
Another female employee, Capt. Patrice Smith, also sought the assistant chief position in 2012 and was denied. She filed a similar lawsuit, alleging she wasn’t promoted because she was a woman and black.
Police Chief Kenton Buckner, who was sworn into office in June, said the lawsuits had no bearing on his decision to promote Fulk. He said Fulk was the best candidate for the job.
Smith wasn’t eligible to be selected for the job this time around. City policy states a police chief may select an assistant chief from the top three candidates, who are ranked on the basis of performance evaluations and interviews. Smith was ranked fourth.
Messages seeking comment were left with Smith and her attorney.
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, https://www.arkansasonline.com
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