Pine Bluff mayor mum on police chief firing

PINE BLUFF, AR – The newly minted mayor of Pine Bluff did not have much to say about the firing of Brenda Davis-Jones after a specially called city council meeting on Friday.

Mayor Debe Hollingsworth fired Davis-Jones on Tuesday and appointed retired police Lieutenant Jeff Hubanks as the interim chief of police. On Friday, according to an agenda provided by the city, the city council convened for an emergency meeting to discuss the appointment of Hubanks.

After the meeting, which lasted about and hour and was done entirely in executive session, Hollingsworth would not elaborate on why she decided to fire Davis-Jones.

“I decided to do it,” said Hollingsworth. “I just decided to do it.”

Hollingsworth did say that her meeting was not productive, but added that she and the city council members are “good friends.”

Also on the agenda for the meeting were residency requirements for personnel of the police department and directors of city departments.