More good city government reporting today from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Joseph Flaherty, on the effort by Mark Edwards, a police spokesman, to shut down an interview by Fox 16’s Kevin Kelly with Chief Keith Humphrey about a series of fatal stabbings.

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The newspaper obtained video of the episode and Flaherty recounts how it ties into ongoing disputes in the ranks on how Humphrey handles personnel. Assistant Chief Hayward Finks has said in a memo that the handling of a review of Edwards’ conduct was one of several illustrations of favorable treatment Humphrey extends to favorites.

The city and police didn’t provide Flaherty with much in response.

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Lawsuits and related intrigue in the department have become too numerous to recount.

Bottom line: The Little Rock Police Department is dysfunctional. The mayor is standing by the man at the top of the heap of discord, a chief who rarely answers questions and, in this case, did so with aggressive intervention by a PR handler.

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Meanwhile, the chief’s statements about the safety of Little Rock are complicated by stories such as this.

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