Attorney General hosts 10th Annual Drug Abuse Prevention Summit

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge is proud to announce the huge success of the tenth Annual Arkansas Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Summit where 700 people attended. This event was held in Northwest Arkansas at the Rogers Convention Center.

The Summit served as a free training and educational opportunity which connected law enforcement officers, medical professionals, treatment specialists, pharmacists, educators and family members.

“It is an honor to host the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Summit in a new location in Northwest Arkansas,” said Attorney General Rutledge. “The best way to address the crisis is to prevent addiction before it starts; that’s why it is imperative that we educate more Arkansans on the dangers of misuse and abuse of prescription medications.”

The keynote address came from General Arthur T.

Dean, a chairman and CEO Emeritus of Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America. General Dean has served as a member of the Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training Advisory Committee, Drug Free Communities Support Program, member of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Advisory Council, National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health among others.

General Dean spent 31 years in the U.S. Army before retirement.

In addition to Attorney General Rutledge, the Summit is sponsored by the Arkansas Board of Pharmacy, the Arkansas Drug Director’s Office and the University of Arkansas System’s Criminal Justice Institute. Other partners include the Arkansas Alcohol Drug Coordinating Council, Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police, Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas Department of Human Services, Arkansas Division of Behavioral Health Services, Arkansas Medical Board, Arkansas National Guard, Arkansas National Guard Counterdrug Program, Arkansas State Board of Nursing, Arkansas Prevention Network, Arkansas Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, National Association of Boards of Pharmacy Foundation, University of Arkansas at Little Rock MidSOUTH Center for Prevention and Training, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Rutledge has long led the fight for Arkansans against opioid addiction by leading litigation, enforcement, education and treatment. In October, Rutledge stood with leaders from cities and counties across the State announcing the $216 million opioid settlement that will provide much-needed relief to people across the country who are struggling with opioid addiction. The agreement includes Cardinal, McKesson, and

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AmerisourceBergen – the nation’s three major pharmaceutical distributors – and Johnson & Johnson, which manufactured and marketed opioids. The settlement will be utilized to combat the opioid addiction epidemic at the State, county and city levels.

For more information about the Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention Summit or to sign up for future events visit ArkansasAG.gov.

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LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas State Police has reached a settlement agreement in a civil action filed earlier this year arising out of a July 9, 2020 traffic stop. Corporal Rod Dunn used a precision immobilization technique [PIT] to force Janice Harper’s vehicle to stop.

Approximately two weeks after the use of force incident, an internal complaint was filed by department supervisors. The subsequent mandatory internal review of the incident led by Highway Patrol Division commanders found that Corporal Dunn failed to comply with the state police Use of Force policy in executing the PIT maneuver.

The internal review process resulted in disciplinary action taken against Corporal Dunn, who prior to the incident, had maintained an exemplary record of service. Corporal Dunn is a 27 year veteran of the department and continues in his role as a state trooper assigned to the Highway Patrol Division.

The Arkansas State Police periodically initiates revisions to its pursuit policy to ensure it is consistent with applicable case law and existing training related to the PIT maneuver. The department has consistently required its troopers to apply an objectively reasonable standard when using the PIT maneuver and will continue to do so.

From 2016 through July 2021, the Arkansas State Police has witnessed a greater than 170 percent increase in the number of pursuits in central Arkansas. The increase raises the risk to innocent Arkansans and state troopers remain committed to ensuring the safety of the public by terminating pursuits the troopers reasonably believe places the public at serious risk of physical injury or death.

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LITTLE ROCK — Law enforcement officers across Arkansas have teamed-up for a mission with the U.S.

Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Their objective is to make the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday a safe one on Arkansas roadways.

Beginning this past Monday Arkansas State Troopers, along with local police and sheriff’s deputies have been and will be working together to enforce Arkansas seatbelt laws. The weeklong enforcement emphasis during the Thanksgiving holiday period is part of NHTSA’s high visibility Click It or Ticket seatbelt awareness campaign designed to remind drivers and vehicle passengers that using their seatbelts will reduce the risk of injury or death on Arkansas roads.

The consequences of failing to abide by the law to buckle-up could cost motorists a fine if stopped by a law enforcement officer for the violation. More importantly, it could cost them serious injury or their life.

“State troopers and other law enforcement officers too often are left to witness the tragic consequences when someone has chosen to ignore the most basic form of protecting themselves, a seatbelt, as they travel the highway,” said Colonel Bill Bryant, Director of the Arkansas State Police and the

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“These deaths represent needless tragedies for families across the nation,” said Colonel Bryant. “Using a seatbelt could mean the difference between life and death this Thanksgiving holiday and every day.”

The Click It or Ticket campaign is designed to save lives by ensuring all Arkansas drivers and passengers get the message to wear their seat belts. The campaign combines powerful messages about seat belt safety combined with an emphasis through increased patrols by law enforcement officers looking for unbuckled motorists.

For more information about traveling safely this Thanksgiving, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/ seat-belts or contact the Arkansas Highway Safety Office at (501) 618-8136.

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LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas lawmakers on Friday delayed a vote on whether to allow state-run health care facilities to require employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine, a move officials say is needed to protect millions of dollars in federal funding.

The Arkansas Legislative Council voted to delay considering the requests by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), the Department of Human Services and the Department of Veterans Affairs for an exemption from a state law banning vaccine requirements by government entities.

The law conflicts with a federal COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers issued by President Joe Biden’s administration that’s set to take effect in January. A group of Republican-led states, including Arkansas, have asked a federal judge to block its enforcement.

UAMS could lose $600 million in Medicare and Medicaid funding and another $100 million in federal contracts if it doesn’t comply with the federal rule, Chancellor Dr. Cam Patterson told the panel.

Patterson said the exemption was needed to ensure its workers are in compliance with the federal requirement and that funding isn’t threatened.

“I hope that there is relief from the final rule, but as a steward of the resources of health care in the state of Arkansas, I have to be prepared for that worst case scenario,” Patterson said.

The panel did not set a date for considering the exemptions. But legislative leaders said they hoped to meet before Dec. 5, the date employees would need to receive their first shot, if the federal requirement isn’t blocked.

Opponents of allowing the exemptions said the facilities were moving too quickly and said they believed there’s still a chance the federal mandate would be blocked. A federal court has blocked another requirement by the Biden administration that workers at companies with 100+ employees get vaccinated or tested weekly.

“It feels like you’re doing this because you want to do this, because you want to implement the vaccine, you want to fire people who aren’t willing to get the vaccine,” Republican Sen.

Bob Ballinger told Patterson during the hearing. “If not, then pull it down, change your policy and wait until you have to do it.”

The pushback over the facilities’ requirements came weeks after Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson effectively approved legislation allowing employees to opt out of vaccine requirements.

Hutchinson allowed the measure to become law without his signature despite his concerns about the impact it will have on businesses in the state.

At the time, Hutchinson said the measure put businesses in the difficult position of choosing between whether to break federal or state law. Lawmakers raised similar concerns with the ban on vaccine requirements conflicting with the federal mandate.

“What you’re asking us to do and what we’re trying to decide for today is, do we play the game of chicken?”

Republican Sen. Jonathan Dismang said. “What happens when one side loses?”