LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas lawmakers are proposing a new bill, House Bill 1159, that would ban and criminalize hazing at the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy.
The bill states that those responsible for hazing would receive varying punishment depending on their position.
For example, instructors and employees that are caught hazing would face the potential of a felony, while students could face a misdemeanor.
House Bill 1159 prohibits students, instructors, or employees from hazing those in training.
The bill defines hazing as any "known conduct" by those of the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy-- House Bill 1159 lists some examples of hazing as:
- Intimidating the person
- Physically attacking the student or threatening to do so
- Social exclusion of the student
- Shaming, humiliating, or discouraging the student from remaining at the academy
- Damaging the student's property
The bill's proposal comes months after Vincent Parks, an officer with the Jonesboro Police Department, died in July at the academy's Little Rock location.
Medical examiners determined that Parks' death was the result of the scorching 101 degree temperature, exertion in the heat, and "pre-existing" conditions.
Larry Jegley, who was the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney at the time, said that an investigation into Parks' death revealed that there was hazing at the academy, alongside other issues.
In a letter he wrote back in December 2022, Jegley mentioned that the investigation file into Park's death revealed: "concerning issues with the culture" of the state's training facility, including hazing and the lack of helpful cooperation in the investigation.
House Bill 1159 states that students will expelled from the program if they're found hazing. It also mentions that instructors and employees will be terminated from the academy if they're found hazing.
To read House Bill 1159 in its entirety, you can click here.