Little Rock Police Chief Heath Helton is retiring after nearly four years on the job.
The City of Little Rock announced Helton’s retirement in a news release Wednesday, saying his last day will be May 29.
"After nearly 30 years in law enforcement, the time has come for me to close this chapter of my life and begin a new one," Helton said in the statement. "Serving as the Little Rock police chief and leading the men and women of the Little Rock Police Department have has been the honor of a lifetime.”
Helton was named Chief of Police by Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. in 2022, having worked for the department since 1996. His tenure began following the turbulent reign of former Police Chief Keith Humphrey, who retired amid a discrimination lawsuit later settled by the city. Helton briefly served as interim chief in the wake of Humphrey’s departure – Humphrey now serves as Chief of Police at the University of Memphis.
Scott credited Helton with overseeing declining crime statistics and the opening of the department’s Real Time Crime Center, which seeks to centralize surveillance efforts across the department’s jurisdiction.
"Under Chief Helton's leadership and implementation of our comprehensive crime reduction strategy, we have seen historically low homicide rates this year and significant downward trends in overall crime,” Scott said. "He has had a positive impact on our entire community during his 30 years as a police officer, and we are a safer, stronger city because of his work."
Three of the department’s assistant chiefs – Joe Miller, Troy Ellison and Andre Dyer – will serve as interim chief while a national search for Helton’s replacement is underway.
