PINE BLUFF, AR — Community members in Pine Bluff are calling on police to make some changes after a SWAT team shoot-out left 107-year-old Monroe Isadore dead in September.
After a special prosecutor determined that no charges will be filed against the officers, some community members want a federal investigation, saying they have submitted a formal request to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
Pine Bluff Police Chief Jeff Hubanks says he has no knowledge of that request, but will comply if investigators contact his office.
“The Justice Department is certainly free to take this issue up and should they decide to do so, they’ll have our full cooperation,” said Hubanks.
Members of the community are also asking that officers with the Pine Bluff Police Department (PBPD) undergo more sensitivity training for dealing with senior citizens.
“You can’t talk to them in loud voices, you have to talk to them in a very low, calm voice so they will respond,” community member Barbara Blunt Muhammad says.
Some people say Isadore could have been confused about what was happening during that shoot-out.
After a special prosecutor determined that no charges will be filed against the officers, some community members want a federal investigation, saying they have submitted a formal request to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
Pine Bluff Police Chief Jeff Hubanks says he has no knowledge of that request, but will comply if investigators contact his office.
“The Justice Department is certainly free to take this issue up and should they decide to do so, they’ll have our full cooperation,” said Hubanks.
Members of the community are also asking that officers with the Pine Bluff Police Department (PBPD) undergo more sensitivity training for dealing with senior citizens.
“You can’t talk to them in loud voices, you have to talk to them in a very low, calm voice so they will respond,” community member Barbara Blunt Muhammad says.
Some people say Isadore could have been confused about what was happening during that shoot-out.
