One of the two out-of-town officers seen on surveillance video at a fight in a Fayetteville pool hall has been fired, officials said.
Rex Frederick, a Prairie Grove 4th Judicial Drug Task Force officer, was fired Wednesday (April 24), said Capt. Chris Workman of the Prairie Grove Police Department.
Workman said Frederick was “terminated for just cause” and has five days from Wednesday to appeal. The appeal would be submitted to the mayor, Workman said.
Surveillance video shows two men with guns out at Billy’s Pool Hall April 12. Three days after the incident, Frederick and Little Rock police officer Jeffrey Harris were suspended from their duties with pay.
Harris remained suspended — of “relieved of duty” — on Friday (April 26), according to KTHV-TV in Little Rock.
The Fayetteville Police Department recently turned over its investigation to the Washington County prosecuting attorney.
Fayetteville Police Chief Greg Tabor told 5NEWS he believes a crime was committed during the incident.
“Yes, I do believe a crime was committed,” he said. “I’m not going to talk about what kind of crimes because it’s in the hands of the prosecutor.”
Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett said charges could be filed against the two off-duty officers involved.
“One of them could be aggravated assault, terroristic threatening,” he said. “There are a number of charges that are possible. We will just have to wait and see based on the evidence.”
Since the Washington County Prosecutor’s office has a close relationship with Frederick, his case will be handed over to a conflict attorney in Little Rock, according to Durrett.
“We work with Detective Frederick not only on a daily basis, but he is in and out of our office all the time so it’s just best if our office step back and let some independent third party take a look at it, review it and determine what should happen next,” Durrett said.
The two off-duty officers were not arrested the night of the incident, nor were they given breathalyzers or blood-alcohol tests, police said. Officials said both officers had been drinking.
Tabor said the two weren’t arrested at the scene because of conflicting statements from witnesses.
“The disturbance was over when we arrived,” he said. “A lot of the facts were disputed. I think the only thing that wasn’t disputed is that the officers had too much to drink.”
The investigation by the Fayetteville Police Department required interviewing numerous witnesses, which Durrett said could take a while to go through.
