The El Dorado Police Department has amended its policy regarding tattoos for officers, per a vote by the El Dorado Civil Service Commission.
During a meeting on June 12, commissioners unanimously approved a request that was presented last month by EPD Chief Kenneth Hickman.
Hickman asked commissioners to consider an amendment that would allow arm-tattoos to be visible while officers are on duty.
He said the change will help with recruiting, particularly among young officers, and fall in line with a trend that is occurring at other police departments who are relaxing rules regarding visible tattoos.
“I think it’ll make it easier on existing employees and easier for candidates who want to apply,” Commissioner Rodney Peevy said June 12, just before making a motion to approve the amendment.
Tattoos fall under the EPD’s uniform, grooming and body armour policy.
With the revision, officers will be allowed to wear short-sleeved uniform shirts as warmer temperatures set in.
Tattoos or brands that can be seen above the neckline (head, face and neck) and from the elbow to the wrist are prohibited.
Tattoos that “are likely to be seen as gang-related, racist, sexist, obscene or shocking in nature” are not prohibited anywhere on the body.
Hickman has also said that new policy helps the EPD keep pace with a shift in societal norms and views toward tattoos.
“I agreed with Chief Hickman. Whether we like it or not, times have changed,” Toddy Pitard, chairman of the civil service commission, said June 12.
Hickman also pointed out that officers with military backgrounds often denote their service in the armed forces with body art.
“Thank you for the new tattoo policy. It helps us going forward with our officers who have been in the military,” the police chief told commissioners.
The commission also discussed details for upcoming civil service exams.
The ECSC and police and fire departments are planning a third round of civil service exams for the year.
The commission typically administers civil service exams twice a year, once in the spring and the fall.
Promotions — as a result of spring exams that were administered in April —, resignations and retirements have prompted the need for another round of testing before the fall, the police and fire chiefs have said.
In recent years, commissioners have periodically included an additional testing cycle during the year in response to requests by the police and fire departments, each of whom have stepped up efforts to boost recruitment and retention rates.
Written exams for both departments are scheduled for 8 a.m. July 13, with oral interviews following July 15.
The physical agility test for the fire department will immediately follow written exams July 13 and the EPD has set its PAT for July 15.
Deputy Fire Chief Sean McCall told commissioners that 31 applications had been submitted by June 12.
McCall said the EFD had four openings.
He explained that the department will offer a position to a candidate who passed civil service exams in April.
However, the candidate, who has indicated that he will turn down the position to enlist in the military, McCall said.
He cited a new state law that lowers from 21 to 18 the minimum age for uniformed person for Arkansas fire departments.
McCall said the EFD can formally offer the candidate — who was 18 when he took the exam — the job when the new law goes into effect July 1.
“Once he turns it down, our (certification) list will be exhausted and he can re-apply and we can start our list over with the July testing,” McCall said.
Candidates who pass civil service exams but are not immediately offered a job are added to a list, which is certified by the civil service commission and is good for up to one year after certification.
Hickman said the EPD has four vacancies, but “functionally, the department is down six positions, explaining that Capt. Cathy Phillips retired last month and another officer will be on military leave for 400 days.
He said the EPD had received 21 requests for applications for the summer tests and four had been submitted.
Hickman and McCall requested permission and were approved for emergency hires — with one certified candidate having applied at each department —, if the candidates are “deemed hirable.”
The ECSC is also vetting its options for recommending a candidate to fill a vacancy that was left by former Commissioner Scott Ellen.
Ellen, who also previously served on the El Dorado City Council, resigned from the ECSC in April, immediately after spring civil service exams wrapped.
He previously announced his intentions to resign. Ellen joined the commission in 2008.
Tia Lyons may be contacted at 870-862-6611 or [email protected] .