A fight that began with racial slurs and escalated into a violent brawl involving about 20 to 30 people outside a Conway business over the weekend has led to criminal charges against two white adults from nearby towns.
Records show those arrested in connection to the altercation Saturday night* outside Maly’s Entertainment were Chucky Hartwick, 52, of Heber Springs and Kelli Ann Kennedy, 33, of Quitman.
Conway’s interim police chief, Chris Harris, said tonight that another man had surrendered earlier this evening and was being charged. Details on charges against Michael Kennedy, 62, of Quitman were not immediately available. Speaking at a sometimes tense Conway City Council meeting, the chief said additional charges were planned.
We will have more reporting Wednesday on the City Council meeting.
Hartwick was arrested on charges of second-degree battery, a felony, and four counts of aggravated assault, also a felony. Kennedy was arrested on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and public intoxication.
One Black male, 16, suffered a severe laceration on his lips, perhaps from a knife, that reportedly required 12 stitches. He also lost some teeth, according to police records.
Police records obtained under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act indicate Kennedy continued to use obscenities and racial slurs even after officers arrived on the scene.
The fight, which began with about 10 people, apparently started after someone made fun of one or more Black youths walking with their hands tucked into their pants in an effort to keep their hands warm. In the video below, Kennedy can be seen drunkenly walking like that, apparently to parody the youths.
The group escalated in size and became violent with shoving and hitting. A knife has since surfaced in one video. Videos from the brawl such as this one have gone viral online. The material is offensive and disturbing.
Dawn Jeffrey, executive director of the Little Rock Freedom Fund, said today that some of the white people involved in the fight “were already intoxicated” when the fight began. “They clearly already had this hate and malice in their heart. … The kids were just at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Jeffrey said.
“We do believe it was a hate crime,” Jeffrey said. “The kids were targeted because of the color of their skin. We demand action. The children need to feel safe. The parents need to feel safe. The community needs to feel safe.”
Jeffrey was among more than 100 people who showed up Monday night for a gathering organized by the NAACP to address the matter.
Bobby Kelly III, a spokesman for Conway Mayor Bart Castleberry, said the mayor instead attended a meeting on the issue with some Black ministers from the area — an event to which Castleberry had already committed before getting the NAACP invitation. Three City Council members attended the NAACP meeting, as did a mayoral representative, Kelly said.
Jeffrey said she believes the NAACP and ministerial meetings should have been held together.
“When it gets like that, it’s like a lack of transparency,” she said. “A lot of times ministers in the Black community have been used as pawns to advocate that the justice system is going to act in our favor. But there’s already a failure and corruption in the Conway Police Department.”
Jeffrey said she hopes the Conway police will add bias training for officers.
She said some whites were among those trying to “stand up for” their Black friends but also were attacked “under the guise that they shouldn’t have been with the Black children anyway.”
Maly’s also has issued a statement, saying it is “deeply saddened” by the incident.
“We unequivocally condemn the acts that took place and will not stand for any form of violence or racism towards our staff or patrons,” Maly’s said.
Here’s Maly’s statement, posted on Facebook.
*Correction: An earlier version of this post said Chucky Hartwick and Kelli Ann Kennedy were arrested Saturday night.
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