Officials have announced that three Arkansas police officers have been removed from duty. An investigation is ongoing after a bystander took a video of 3 police officers beating a man during an Arkansas arrest on Sunday.
This clip has been shared widely on social media. Be aware: This video could be disturbing.
The video shows a woman screaming at officers, “Don’t beat him!”
The cameraman can hear one of the officers shouting, “Back the Fuck up!”
Officials confirmed that two officers were Crawford County Sheriff’s Office deputies. Mulberry Police Department is the third officer.
Crawford County Sheriff stated that he holds all of his employees accountable for their actions and will take the necessary steps to resolve this matter.
Mulberry’s mayor was Gary D. Baxter. In a statement, he stated that the video shocked and sickened him and that he immediately took action after he saw it.
Baxter wrote: “I want to assure, the citizens of Mulberry, and all visitors to our town, Mulberry Police officers that they will treat everybody with dignity and respect.” “Should this not be the case, we will immediately take decisive action. ”
According to the Arkansas State Police, they are investigating the matter.
“I spoke to Col. Bill Bryant from the Arkansas State Police. According to Gov. Asa Hutchinson, the local Crawford County arrest (subject to the video evidence), will be investigated pursuant to the request of the prosecuting attorney.”
According to the Arkansas State Police, the incident occurred Sunday morning in Mulberry. Randal Ray, 27, from Goose Creek was treated at a nearby hospital and transported to Crawford County Jail.
According to Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante, Worcester County Sheriff, a clerk at an Alma gas station called police after Worcester threatened to kill him. Worcester cycled to Mulberry’s convenience store where he was discovered by police.
Damante said that Worcester initially cooperated and tried to attack officers, but then became violent. Damante stated that one deputy suffered a minor head injury.
The bystander’s video does not support Worcester’s claims. Worcester can be seen being pinned to concrete, unable to move beyond trying his best to defend himself from the officers.
Worcester is currently in custody on charges of second-degree battery, third-degree assaults, and resisting arrest.
According to jail records, he is being held on $15,000 bail.
The video was first posted to TikTok on Sunday. It was then shared on other social media platforms. BuzzFeed News requested a comment from the original poster.
We are not sure if any additional footage of the incident, such as from body cameras or video surveillance, was captured.
