Little Rock officials are dealing with two high‑profile legal matters this week. A federal jury on Friday awarded Don Cook nearly $900,000 after finding Arkansas State Police Trooper Ryan Wingo used excessive force during a June 1, 2020 George Floyd protest outside the state Capitol, according to KATV. Jurors awarded Cook $881,127 in damages, noting the trooper shot him in the face with a 12‑gauge beanbag projectile as the crowd was ordered to disperse.
Cook, who told Channel 7 News in a 2022 interview that he required emergency facial reconstructive surgery, also claimed permanent damage from the incident. The jury rejected Cook’s claim that the shooting was retaliation for his protest participation and also found no retaliation by former Pulaski County Sheriff Jeff Sheeler for an arrest in May 2021. The first trial had ended in a hung jury.
Meanwhile, Pulaski County residents voiced sharp criticism of a proposed county‑wide zoning ordinance at a District 10 community discussion on Monday night, KATV reported. The plan, introduced by County Judge Barry Hyde, would create four zoning districts—Industrial Mining, Single‑Family Residential, Agricultural and Forestry, and Planned Unit Development—across all unincorporated areas, filling a regulatory gap left by the state’s Act 314, which stripped cities of zoning authority in their extraterritorial jurisdictions.
Justice of the Peace candidate Kristina Gulley organized the meeting and invited County Judge candidate RET Wendell Griffen to speak. Gulley said she does not support “strict regulations in the unincorporated communities,” while Griffen echoed resident sentiment that they do not want the county imposing zoning on landowners. “Everybody was saying we don’t want county‑wide zoning…until then nobody should have their area zoned and have it shoved down their throat,” Griffen said.
The Pulaski County Planning Board attempted a vote on the ordinance last Tuesday but lacked a quorum. The board is scheduled to reconvene on Tuesday, December 16, and if the ordinance passes, it will move to the Pulaski County Quorum Court for further consideration. Both stories underscore ongoing debates in Little Rock about public safety, government authority, and community input.
What’s next: The zoning proposal will be voted on again on December 16, with a final decision expected to go before the Quorum Court later this month. The Cook lawsuit will proceed to sentencing, where the awarded damages will be enforced.
