Following the social media outrage over a video showing a suspect being beaten in the town of Mulberry while held down on the ground, three Arkansas law enforcement officers that were caught on camera were placed on leave Sunday.
In a statement issued on Sunday, Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante said that during the Arkansas state police’s investigation into the incident and the sheriff’s office’s internal investigation, two county deputies and a Mulberry police officer will be suspended.
Both Damante and Mulberry Police Chief Shannon Gregory stressed that they hold all their employees accountable for their actions and will take appropriate measures in this matter.
The police report of the incident that happened on Sunday morning indicates that the man was making threats to a convenience store employee in Mulberry, a town located about 137 miles northwest of Little Rock, when the officers confronted him.
After the suspect pushed a deputy to the ground and punched the back of his head, one of the three suspended policemen repeatedly punched and kicked the suspect’s head and body while the second one was holding him down and the third was seen kneeing him.
The video also shows police telling a bystander to back away from the area and pointed away after slamming the suspect’s face to the ground. One law enforcement officer sustained injuries during the arrest.
The man that was later arrested and identified as 27-year-old Randal Ray Worcester of Goose Creek, South Carolina, faces charges of terroristic threatening, resisting arrest, criminal mischief, battery, and other assault charges while in hospital and was later jailed.
Pursuant to the video evidence release and the request of the prosecuting attorney, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announced an investigation into the incident in Crawford County.
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