Batesville native to be honored by DEA at special ceremony

A Batesville native killed in the line of duty while serving as a Special Agent for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will be honored in a special event on Thursday afternoon, May 16, at the Old Independence Regional Museum.

According to a release from the DEA, the ceremony will honor the sacrifice of Special Agent Rick Finley. Speakers will include DEA Little Rock Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jarad Harper, Arkansas State Police Director Col. Mike Hagar, and Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh, who will proclaim May 16 as “Rick Finley Day.”

A 1970 graduate of Batesville High School, Finley (pictured above) was part of Operation Snowcap, a multi-agency task force assigned to identifying and destroying clandestine cocaine laboratories, when his plane crashed in South America on May 20, 1989.

A graduate of Arkansas State University, Finley also served seven years as an officer with the North Little Rock Police Department.

At Thursday’s event, the North Little Rock Police Department Honor Guard will raise a flag once flown over the U.S. Capitol in memory of Agent Finley, and a granite bench at the museum will also be dedicated in Finley’s name.

The ceremony, hosted by the DEA’s Little Rock District Office, is being held during National Police Week, an annual observance to pay tribute to law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty.

According to the DEA, the event will provide an opportunity for the community, law enforcement colleagues, and survivors to gather and remember Special Agent Finley’s bravery and service.

The event begins at 1 p.m. at the Old Independence Regional Museum at 380 S. 9th St. in Batesville.