By JOE MAY | The Southern Standard
ARKADELPHIA, Arkansas — What started out as a simple seatbelt ticket issued following an early January accident along Highway 67 South in Gum Springs has now made its way to Gov. Sarah Sanders’ office.
Earlier this year, Richard Womack Jr., son of state Rep. Richard Womack Sr. (R-Arkadelphia), was broadsided by an uninsured motorist on Highway 67 in Gum Springs. Womack Jr. was unhurt in the wreck, but his pickup was totaled. Due to his need of a ride, he told the newspaper that he called his father to come pick him up at the scene.
Meanwhile, Arkansas State Police Trooper Seth Smedley, who was summoned to work the accident, and who had allegedly been on the scene for about 15 minutes, went to Womack Jr.’s unoccupied truck, opened the door and proceeded to tug on the seatbelt, and determined that the driver was not wearing his seatbelt. Based on this, Smedley then issued Womack Jr. a ticket for no seatbelt. Womack Jr. told the newspaper that Smedley never asked if he was wearing a seatbelt.
Smedley also issued Womack Jr. a warning for his expired vehicle registration.
While the situation might seem routine to some, that’s not how the Womacks see the matter. Nor is it the opinion of Robert Steinbuch, a professor at the University of Arkansas’ Bowen School of Law in Fayetteville. Steinbuch is considered one of the nation’s foremost experts on the Freedom of Information Act.
A weekly columnist for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Steinbuch brought Womack Jr.’s case to the public’s eye in his March 7 editorial in the state paper, opining that the trooper in the case violated Womack Jr.’s Fourth Amendment rights by conducting what amounted to an illegal search of the vehicle.
Later, at his son’s request, Womack Sr. contacted state police to ask what Smedley’s legal basis for opening the door without first seeking Womack’s consent, according to Steinbuch’s article.
At this point, the ASP’s deputy director of field operations, Lt. Col. Jason Aaron, became involved, sending an email to Womack Sr., parts of which were reproduced in Steinbuch’s column.
Womack Sr. declined to provide the newspaper with the full text of the email, requesting that a reporter instead reach out to the state police. Due to deadline constraints, the newspaper has not yet seen the entire email.
In the email, Aaron denied that Womack Jr.’s rights were violated, writing, “TFC Smedley identified on initial approach the side curtain air bags deployed in your son’s truck in plain view. TFC Smedley knows through his training and experience that seat belt tensioners lock in place once air bags deploy. TFC Smedley’s crash investigation requires him to determine whether or not the driver and occupants were wearing their seatbelts … TFC Smedley confirmed his suspicion of your son not wearing his seat belt by opening the door and tugging on the seat belt to confirm it was locked in place.”
In his article, Steinbuch disagreed, stating that there was no probable case for the trooper to have opened the door.
“A hunch isn’t enough,” he wrote.
Dash cam footage shows the trooper walking toward the truck and opening the door without first peering through the window, the article notes. To Steinbuch, this “indicates Smedley didn’t establish probable cause at that time.”
Clark County District Court Judge Randy Hill apparently came to the same conclusion in a suppression hearing on the issue. Hill sided with Womack Jr.’s attorney, ruling that the evidence was not admissible because the search violated the Fourth Amendment. He then set the case for trial at a later date without the evidence gleaned by Smedley opening the door and tugging on the seatbelt.
What happened next has not been fully proven, but the allegations have been flying back and forth between civilians and law enforcement officials alike, many of whom spoke with the newspaper on condition of anonymity. It is alleged that Aaron and the five uniformed state troopers present in the courtroom then went out in the hall where numerous sources are reporting that the deputy director ordered troopers not to write tickets in Clark County for a set length of time unless asked by Sheriff Jason Watson.
Watson did not comment publicly on the matter, but did acknowledge he was made aware of the allegations “second-hand.”
Asked about the allegations, Womack Sr. also admitted he had been told by several sources about the statement. His son also stated that he had heard about the alleged order, but, like everyone else, said he did not hear it from a direct witness.
Asked about the allegations, Aaron chuckled. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been to the courthouse in Arkadelphia,” he said. “I wasn’t there for the trial. I work out of the Little Rock office.”
Noting that he did not know which officers were present at court, Aaron stated that he was unsure that such a statement would have been made.
“I’m not sure where that’s coming from,” he commented. “We’ve certainly had rulings across the state that haven’t gone our way, but that’s not going to stop us from doing our job. It does not change our behavior one bit. That’s just the criminal justice system. It is what it is.”
Regarding the ruling made by Hill, Aaron said, “Well, that’s just one judge’s opinion. We still support our trooper and believe that he did the right thing.”
It’s another statement in the case — this time from the agency’s director, Col. Mike Hagar — that has Womack Sr. consulting with the governor’s office.
At some point in the case, Steinbuch reported that Hagar sent Womack Sr. an email chastising the state representative for allegedly having approached the newspaper and the Speaker of the House regarding the situation with his son, an allegation that both Womack Sr. and Speaker Brian Evans have denied, according to Steinbuch. The Southern Standard has obtained a copy of this email from a third party.
Hagar accused the state representative of showing up at the accident scene to try “to either influence or intimidate” Smedley.
Complaining that Womack Jr. had “taken to social media to disparage our Trooper and Law Enforcement in general,” Hagar said he “couldn’t be more satisfied with the level of professionalism, patience and respect shown by Trp. Smedley.”
Asked about these two incidents by a reporter, Womack Sr. told The Southern Standard that he met with the governor’s office on Tuesday regarding the matter.
“The governor’s office is aware of the situation,” the state representative stated. While he did not elaborate publicly, he indicated that he was concerned with the attitudes expressed by state police leaders.
“We’ll know something soon hopefully,” he said.
Prosecuting Attorney Dan Turner, asked about the case, told the newspaper that the initial court case is “effectively over.”
“We can’t introduce evidence that has been suppressed, so I don’t expect that the case will continue,” he said.
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