Arkansas troopers launch investigation and after viral video
Shocking moment three Arkansas cops pin suspect to the ground and brutally beat him after arresting him for threatening a gas station worker: Two deputies and officer suspended
- Three Arkansas cops were suspended after video of them emerged brutally beating an arrest suspect at a gas station
- Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante said Sunday evening that two of his deputies will be suspended – while an officer in Mulberry was also put on leave
- ‘I hold all my employees accountable for their actions and will take appropriate measures in this matter,’ Damante said following the incident
- The suspect was identified as South Carolina resident Randall Worcester, 27
- He faces charges of terroristic threatening, resisting arrest and other assault charges, police said, after he allegedly threatened a worker at the store
Three Arkansas cops were suspended after video of them emerged brutally beating an arrest suspect at a gas station – sparking angry reaction across the country as the footage circulated online.
Cops said Randall Worcester, 27, was making threats to a convenience store worker in Mulberry, near Little Rock, on Sunday morning.
When several officers went to confront him, he allegedly pushed a deputy to the ground and punched the back of his head, leading to the arrest seen in the clip.
But footage showed the three officers brutally beating the suspect.
One officer is seen repeatedly striking him in the head with clenched fists even after he was restrained, and at one point lifts and then slams the man’s head into the concrete ground. Another is shown kneeing the man in the back and leg.
The officers are also shown aggressively pinning the man’s head down, and holding his hood over his face while striking him. At one point in the video, the officers are shown shouting and pointing at the person filming the incident.
The identities of the three officers seen in the video were not immediately available.
The video was posted to Snapchat by Naomi Johnson, whose sister witnessed and recorded the incident on her phone. A stunned Jackson asked who she needed to send it to in order to report the officers for misconduct.
Three Arkansas law enforcement officers were suspended Sunday following social media outrage over a video that seemingly showed two deputies and an officer striking a suspect under arrest
Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante issued a statement Sunday evening, stating two county deputies will be suspended during the course of the Arkansas state police’s investigation into the incident and the sheriff’s office’s internal investigation
Cops said Randall Worcester (pictured in a mugshot), 27, was making threats to a convenience store worker in Mulberry, near Little Rock, on Sunday morning.
When several officers went to confront Randall Worcester (pictured left), he allegedly pushed a deputy to the ground and punched the back of his head, leading to the arrest seen in the clip. In a statement released Sunday evening, Mulberry Police Chief Shannon Gregory (pictured right) said the officer involved in the incident is on leave pending an investigation
Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante issued a statement Sunday evening, saying two county deputies were suspended in the state police’s investigation into the incident and the sheriff’s office’s internal review. A Mulberry police officer also was suspended.
‘I hold all my employees accountable for their actions and will take appropriate measures in this matter,’ Damante said.
In a statement released Sunday evening, Mulberry Police Chief Shannon Gregory said the officer involved in the incident is on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
‘The city of Mulberry and the Mulberry police department takes these investigations very seriously,’ Gregory said.
Police said the incident happened on Sunday at around 10:40 a.m. local time at the Kountry Xpress at 1107 Georgia Ridge Dr. in Mulberry – which is found around 135 miles northwest of Little Rock.
According to the Arkansas Times, Naomi Johnson’s sister said she arrived at a gas station when she saw a shoeless man sitting on the curb and talking to police officers. She then saw the man get up and try and run away, but was tackled.
Johnson’s sister reported that she thought the man seemed in mental distress, the Arkansas Times reported.
Johnson’s sister was in her car with a friend at the time, the newspaper reported. The pair can be heard in the footage shouting at the officer to stop punching the man.
The audio is difficult to pick up from the footage, but it sounds like one officer tells the people in the car to ‘back the f**k up’.
Worcester – of Goose Creek, South Carolina – was arrested and taken to a local hospital. He faces charges of terroristic threatening, resisting arrest and other assault charges, police said.
Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler gave information on the incident, saying: ‘Special Agents of the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division are investigating the incident depicted in the video which occurred about 10:30 AM today outside a convenience store in the Dyer community (Crawford County).
‘The incident involves two Crawford County sheriff’s deputies and a Mulberry police officer. At this time I do not have any identifying information about the victim.’
No further information was immediately available.
Mulberry Mayor Gary Baxter said he was ‘shocked and sickened’ and promised a full investigation.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson also promised that the state would get to the bottom of the matter.
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