Three US police officers have been suspended after images surfaced online showing them violently beating a man during an arrest in southern Arkansas, authorities said Sunday night.
In the video, which sparked outrage on social media, officers grab a white man, forcefully punch him in the head and knee him in the legs, and slam his face into the concrete floor. “It’s serious,” says one person off camera. When bystanders try to approach the police, one of them orders them to stay away.
An open investigation
Videos showing police violence, often against African-Americans, regularly make headlines in the United States, a country still scarred by the killing of George Floyd under the knee of a police officer in May 2020.
“Like many of you, I was shocked and disgusted by what I saw,” Gary Baxter, mayor of the city where the video was filmed, Mulberry, said in a statement announcing that one of the officers had been placed on “administration.” “. get out” pending the results of an investigation.
The other two officers, who work for Crawford County, were also suspended, and the sheriff promised he would take “appropriate action.” The violent arrest occurred around 10:40 a.m. Sunday outside a grocery store, according to Arkansas State Police, which has opened an investigation into officers’ “use of force.”
The victim accused of refusing to comply
The victim, Randall Worcester, 27, was taken to a hospital before being jailed, according to the same source. He is the subject of various charges, including refusing to obey, resisting arrest and assault. The suspect is accused of threatening a gas station worker who called police, Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante told local channel 40/29.
Randall Worcester was cooperative at first, before turning violent and attempting to attack police, he said. Arkansas Republican Governor Asa Hutchinson said on Twitter that he had spoken with the state’s police chief and said the incident would be “investigated in accordance with the video evidence and the DA’s request.”
Source: BFM TV
