Chief deputy attorney of Little Rock to step down

Little Rock, Arkansas – The top deputy attorney of the city of Little Rock intends to resign, a city official said on Thursday.

At the end of the year, attorney Alexander Betton will retire.

In August, Betton was chosen to head the city’s newly reorganized Freedom of Information Act Division.

“Alex is an asset to all of us at City Hall,” Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. said in a statement. “I value his legal expertise and trusted counsel, and I’m grateful for his willingness to take over the FOIA Division with the City Attorney’s Office. I’m glad he will stay on until the end of the year, and I’m excited to see what’s on the horizon for his career.”

In a document that was leaked on Tuesday, Little Rock’s chief people officer said that municipal attorney Thomas Carpenter had called one of the FOI coordinators a “n-word” during a meeting.