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Rogers Mayor Releases Information On Past Investigations Of City Attorney

ROGERS [KFSM] – Mayor Greg Hines held a news conference Friday (Aug. 29), saying an investigation into complaints that City Attorney Ben Lipscomb imperson...

ROGERS [KFSM] - Mayor Greg Hines held a news conference Friday (Aug. 29), saying an investigation into complaints that City Attorney Ben Lipscomb impersonated a law enforcement officer is sealed.

Lipscomb is accused of using a city attorney badge to get into a VIP tent at the Miranda Lambert concert at the Arkansas Music Pavilion in Rogers on July 12, officials said. Lipscomb has not been charged with any crime.

According to documents that Hines released Aug. 29, Lipscomb has been involved with two other investigations since 2012 that are not related to the current investigation.  In November 2012, Lipscomb was investigated on complaints that he gave former Rogers city employee Rufus Ramey Xanax pills on multiple occasions. Investigators said Lipscomb never asked for money in return. The case went to the Benton County Prosecutor's Office, and no charges were filed.

In January 2014, Rogers attorney Bill Horton filed a harassment complaint against Lipscomb, accusing the city attorney of "bullying him and cussing at him" via email on a case involving one of Horton's clients. The harassment complaint went to the Benton County Prosecutor's Office, and no charges were filed, records show.

The mayor said the emails the city attorney sent to Horton were unprofessional.

"If an individual employed by me acted in that manner, they would be terminated," Hines said.

Lipscomb was out of the office Friday and unavailable for comment, but the mayor said he is still acting as the city attorney.

"Mr. Lipscomb is the elected city attorney. He does not fall under my purview or management," Hines said. "I don't have the authority to counsel, to discipline, or ultimately to decide his employment with the city."

The investigation into whether Lipscomb impersonated a police officer is being handled by Crawford County Prosecuting Attorney Marc McCune. He was named special prosecutor by the Arkansas Prosecutors Coordinator’s Office after Jim Clark, a former Rogers official serving as interim Benton County prosecuting attorney, recused himself to avoid a conflict.

Lipscomb's term as city attorney ends in 2016.

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