FORT SMITH (KFSM) – The lawyer for a group of Fort Smith Police officers who are involved in a whistleblower lawsuit with the city says that the Fort Smith Police Department attempted to hack his computer and deleted emails a judge told the department to turn over.
Matt Campbell, the lawyer for the officers, filed a new motion on April 10 in an already-existing lawsuit, making the above-named claims against the Fort Smith Police Department, officials said. The original whistleblower lawsuit was filed on Jan. 13, 2014.
In the new motion filed Friday, Campbell states the Fort Smith Police Department gave one of the officers involved in the lawsuit an external hard drive, and it contained “malicious software designed to hack into [Campbell’s] computer.” Because of the software, the lawsuit states, the hard drive was rendered unsafe for use.
In regards to deleted emails, the motion states, “Defendants have engaged in intentional spoilation of evidence by deleting entire email accounts without [allowing] plaintiffs to search the emails.”
Two police officers and one former officer are named in the whistleblower lawsuit:
- Don P. Bales (former officer)
- Rick Entmeier
- Wendall Sampson, Jr.
The above-named individuals say they were retaliated against by the Fort Smith Police Department between 2011 and 2013 for confronting superiors concerning various department issues, according to the whistleblower lawsuit.
5NEWS sought comment from the Fort Smith Police Department on the new motion, but they have not yet responded.
