DARDANELLE, Ark. — A former Dardanelle police detective has filed a lawsuit against the city and two former police department leaders, alleging she was demoted after reporting an attempt to falsify a police report, then lost a new job opportunity when those same officials tried to have her law enforcement certification revoked.

The lawsuit, filed Oct. 22 in Pulaski County Circuit Court, names former Police Chief Joe Paterak, former Lt. Steve Wilson and the City of Dardanelle as defendants.

Former detective Beck Brown alleges the retaliation began in June after she brought concerns about Paterak’s conduct to a member of the Dardanelle City Council. According to the complaint, what started with a demotion eventually escalated into allegations of theft and dishonesty, damaging information added to her personnel file and an unsuccessful attempt to have her stripped of her certification as a police officer.

Brown joined the Dardanelle Police Department in June 2025 with approximately 10 years of law enforcement experience. She received the department’s Officer of the Year award and was promoted to detective in January 2026.

The dispute centers on a May 30 incident involving a young child who wandered away from a home described in the lawsuit as a known drug house. Brown responded to assist another officer, who had specifically requested her help because the child was a girl.

According to the complaint, Paterak instructed that officer the following day to change his report, removing any mention of Brown’s involvement and taking credit for actions he had not performed. The officer allegedly refused, telling Paterak that doing so would amount to falsifying a police report.

Brown says she learned what happened and brought the matter to a city council member on June 1, believing the chief was attempting to falsify government records and retaliate against an officer who refused to cooperate.

The council member contacted Paterak that same day, according to the lawsuit.

On June 2, Brown was demoted from detective back to patrol. She alleges Paterak told her the decision came from Mayor Jimmy Witt, although the complaint claims the mayor had not requested her demotion. The other officer was allegedly forced to resign that same day.

Brown eventually began looking for employment elsewhere and resigned in late July after securing another job opportunity.

But according to the lawsuit, her troubles with the department continued after she left.

Brown alleges Wilson contacted the Yell County Sheriff’s Office, where she had an employment opportunity, and falsely accused her of misconduct involving theft and dishonesty. She says the sheriff’s office subsequently withdrew its job offer.

The complaint alleges Wilson acted with Paterak’s knowledge and direction, and that the two also submitted materials to the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training (CLEST) seeking to have Brown’s law enforcement certification revoked.

The lawsuit states that CLEST ultimately did not pursue the decertification case.

Brown also claims that when she requested her personnel file under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, she discovered numerous negative documents that had not been present when she previously obtained the file. Some, she alleges, were created after she resigned.

Among those records were allegations that Brown committed time-card theft by leaving work early. Brown disputes that characterization, saying she routinely arrived early to relieve other officers and left a corresponding amount of time early with her supervisors’ knowledge.

The complaint goes further, alleging Paterak and Wilson had engaged in similar efforts to create damaging records against at least two other former officers in an attempt to have them decertified.

Brown is pursuing claims that include whistleblower retaliation, violations of her First Amendment rights, defamation, interference with employment, abuse of process, malicious prosecution and invasion of privacy. She is seeking damages for lost wages, damage to her reputation and emotional suffering, along with punitive damages against the individual defendants.

The lawsuit comes less than a month after Paterak’s retirement from the Dardanelle Police Department became effective Oct. 1. Paterak had stepped away from day-to-day operations in late August, with Brian Blevins assuming leadership of the department. The Dardanelle City Council formally appointed Blevins interim police chief Sept. 8.

Wilson also left the department, submitting his resignation Aug. 25.

Both Witt and Dardanelle City Attorney Ken Helton declined to comment, citing the ongoing nature of the litigation.