LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A state employee has been removed from the Franklin County prison project after he allegedly sent an email appearing to mock local residents upset about the plans.
5NEWS has requested the email from the Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services (TSS) — where it apparently originated.
The email appears to have been sent to another state employee the day the prison was announced.
In response to our request, as well as official comment to the email, TSS on Dec. 10 called the employee's message "unprofessional" and "uncharacteristic." The full statement can be seen below:
"This employee’s correspondence displayed a level of poor judgment and unprofessional behavior that are uncharacteristic of his 14 years of public service to the State of Arkansas. He has reached out to Franklin County Judge Bowman to apologize personally, and we have removed him from any further work on the prison project."
The project, first announced on Oct. 31, would put a 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County. Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said that the prison would address a bed shortage in the state's prison shortage, but residents and local leaders alike are not on board.
The state's government has been under fire ever since the announcement was made.
The newly formed Franklin County and River Valley Coalition, created in direct response to the prison plans, has maintained that the plans were formulated in secret and have a negative impact on the way of life in the region.
Once we receive a response to the request and confirm the content of the email, we will update this article.
Stay with 5NEWS as we bring you the latest.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.
