“The Division has acquired inquiries as to why it’s supporting this constitutional modification when, in actual fact, it isn’t.”
By Hunter Discipline, Arkansas Advocate
The Metropolis of Little Rock final week despatched a cease-and-desist letter to the group sponsoring Arkansas’s leisure marijuana poll initiative demanding the group take down an advert town stated depicted Little Rock cops.
Accountable Progress Arkansas in a response Friday declined to take away the advert and disagreed that it contained any insignia or emblem that recognized the Little Rock Police Division.
The medical marijuana industry-backed group has been operating tv adverts to help the marketing campaign to move Difficulty 4 on November 8. It has additionally posted an advert on the homepage of its web site.
“Sadly, at the least one of many ads has parts which present Little Rock cops,” Metropolis Legal professional Tom Carpenter wrote. “Neither the Metropolis, nor the Little Rock Police Division has endorsed this effort. The movie footage getting used is from coaching movies that had been created to draw individuals to hitch the police pressure. The Division has acquired inquiries as to why it’s supporting this constitutional modification when, in actual fact, it isn’t.”
The advert contains footage of a police automobile and several other pictures of cops, however it’s tough to inform what company they symbolize.
Accountable Progress emphasised its help for regulation enforcement, but it surely declined to take away the advert, saying it didn’t suggest an endorsement from LRPD.
“As for the advert in query, we now have reviewed it and don’t see any insignia, emblem or different identification of the Little Rock Police Division—or every other regulation enforcement company, for that matter,” legal professional Erika Gee wrote. “Furthermore, the video utilized in creation of the commercial was taken from public sources which introduced no declare that the video is protected against public use. As such, we see no authorized foundation for the demand that RGA stop and desist from additional use of this video.”
Accountable Progress has portrayed its proposal as pro-police. The modification’s major goal is to legalize hashish for grownup use, however it could additionally direct a portion of the tax income to regulation enforcement.
Carpenter didn’t instantly reply to a query Wednesday morning about whether or not town would take additional authorized motion.