An investigation has been opened into three Arkansas police officers after they were allegedly captured on viral video beating a suspect.
On Sunday, around 10:40 a.m. local time, three officers — two from the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department and one from the Mulberry Police Department — arrested a man who was accused of various crimes, Arkansas State Police said in asocial media statement.
During the arrest, which occurred outside a convenience store in Mulberry, police were captured on camera using force against the suspect, who was identified as Randall Worcester, 27, of Goose Creek, South Carolina.
The officers involved in the incident were not identified, but Crawford County Sheriff Jimmy Damante said in astatementthat two officers have been suspended until the conclusion of the state investigation, while Mulberry police said in astatementof their own that their officer has been put on administrative leave amid the probe.
Representatives for both the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department and the Mulberry Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for additional comment.
A police car.Shutterstock
Towards the end of the clip, a woman can be heard screaming at the officers to stop, before the group points towards the camera, with one officer even shouting at her to back up.
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Police car.Getty
The outlet added that the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office said Worcester was “cooperative at first,” but things took a turn for the worse and he got violent. As a result, one of the police officers sustained injuries during the arrest, KARK reported.
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According to the Arkansas State Police statement, Worcester has been charged with second-degree battery, resisting arrest, refusal to submit, possessing an instrument of crime, criminal trespass, criminal mischief, terroristic threatening and second-degree assault.
source: people.com
