Eric Higgins has more than three decades of experience in law enforcement.
Pulaski County Sheriff Eric Higgins announced today he is seeking re-election to another four-year term as sheriff. First elected in 2018, Higgins is the first African American sheriff in the county’s 200 year history.
While Higgins said great strides have been made in protecting families and making the Sheriff’s Office more responsive to the community, there is still more to do.
“We’ve created new community policing programs and restarted others to reduce crime and re-engage citizens with our department. These successful programs have a positive impact on the lives of the people of Pulaski County,” Higgins said. “We’ve strengthened our agency’s stability by increasing the salaries of our hardworking deputies and increased retention rates which ultimately protect our community by keeping experienced officers on the streets. It’s an honor to serve as Pulaski County’s sheriff and I look forward to serving the community for another four years.”
In his first term, Higgins was the first law enforcement leader in the state to implement a “Duty to Intervene” and “Prohibiting Chokeholds” policies, according to a press release. Higgins also increased annual training for all deputies from the 24 hours state requirement to 48 hours.
He previously served for more than 30 years with the Little Rock Police Department retiring as an Assistant Chief of Police.
Higgins grew up in Little Rock and graduated from Catholic High School. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Multidisciplinary Studies: Government and Business, and a Master of Arts in Human Services: Executive Leadership and Counseling from Liberty University.
Higgins is seeking the Democratic nomination in the May 2022 primary. The General Election is in November 2022.