A Little Rock detective charged with drinking and driving was found guilty and ordered to pay more than a thousand dollars worth of fines Thursday afternoon. Bryant police arrested detective Russell Littleton last August and police say he tried to get out of it.
Little Rock Detective Russell Littleton didn't have anything to say after court Thursday. He is charged with drinking while intoxicated, speeding, and refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test.
When Bryant police arrested Littleton, he was driving an undercover police truck. Police say he was driving close to 90 miles per hour near the Raymar overpass in Bryant.
The arresting officer testified and said Littleton told police he had three drinks that night and one that afternoon and was coming from a fantasy football meeting. When the Bryant detective asked Littleton to take a field sobriety test, police say Littleton asked if the officer could show some "professional courtesy" and let him go.
"Law enforcement officers should first of all obey the law and secondly cooperate with officers from other agencies. If there is ever any questions about conduct…the thin blue line should not be drawn in the sand where someone says let me get off with these charges," says Teresa Belew, Executive Director of MADD.
According to the police report, Littleton also made threats to Bryant police saying, "If you come through Little Rock, you'll be taken care of." and "Good luck in Little Rock."
"This situation where one law enforcement agency appears to have to be pitted against the other or an officer has to make this kind of a call at the request of a fellow officer who should be cooperating at all times is very sad. It sends the wrong message to the community," says Belew.
Littleton was suspended without pay from the Little Rock Police Department for 30 days. He has worked on the Little Rock Police Department for 11 years. He is also a federal officer with the DEA. He is still working at the Little Rock Police Department.
