Little Rock police officer Charles Starks resigns, says police chief made job intolerable

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — A Little Rock police officer who was fired over a deadly shooting and then reinstated is resigning from the department.

Charles Starks said in a resignation letter Friday that Police Chief Keith Humphrey purposely made his working conditions "intolerable." He said Humphrey and Mayor Frank Scott JR. have never acknowledged that Starks' "life was in danger" when he killed Blackshire.

"My fellow officers have been substantially supportive but that doesn't overturn the manner in which you have treated me or caused me to be treated," he said.

Humphrey declined to comment on Starks' resignation. Scott was not immediately available for comment.

The department's wellness unit had Starks meet with a counselor, according to the letter. The counselor reportedly recommended that Starks resign due to the "toxic environment" created by Humphrey.

Ronnie Morgan with the Arkansas Fraternal Order of Police said the letter "speaks for itself" and referred all further questions to Starks’ attorney.

Humphrey is the subject of multiple lawsuits from officers accusing him of retaliation against Starks and those who have supported him, withholding employee records and back pay and creating a hostile work environment.

"I have concluded that it is impossible for me to work at the Little Rock Police Department as long as you remain Chief," Starks said in the letter.

His resignation will be effective on Sept. 26, according to the letter.