FORREST CITY, Ark. — St. Francis County Sheriff Bobby May forcefully defended his decision to rehire former Marion police officer Trey Bynum during a contentious press conference Wednesday morning.
Bynum, who was recently fired from the Marion Police Department, has been rehired as a deputy with the St. Francis County Sheriff’s Office. May previously confirmed to the Forrest City Times-Herald that Bynum was hired Tuesday, June 2, and was scheduled to begin work Thursday, June 11.
During the press conference, May said Bynum had been “persecuted by liars” and made clear he had no plans to remove him from the department.
“Apparently there’s a lot of idiots out there who believe crap like that,” May said.
May also said a Facebook group critical of Bynum’s rehiring was “very small” but “very vocal.”
The rehiring has drawn criticism following Bynum’s firing from the Marion Police Department. Marion officials previously said a prior law enforcement agency had not been included on Bynum’s original employment application. The review came amid public attention over Bynum’s connection to the 2024 death of Tripp Brazeale.
NEA Report obtained the full Arkansas State Police investigative file through FOIA. We have uploaded the file here.
Gil Brazeale, Tripp Brazeale’s father and one of May’s opponents in the sheriff’s race, was present at the press conference. During the exchange, May accused Brazeale of having “a reputation for being a pathological liar.”
Brazeale responded, “Could say the same thing about you.”
May then made additional personal accusations about Brazeale, including remarks about debts and his mother’s funeral. Several people at the press conference reacted angrily and questioned the relevance of the comments.
May said the remarks were related to Brazeale’s credibility.
The sheriff remarked negatively on Bynum’s firing in Marion and said emphatically that Bynum would not be run off from his department.
May is seeking reelection as St. Francis County sheriff. His general election opponents are Republican Tommy Hampton and Democrat Gil Brazeale.
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