Three neighborhood police officers were caught on camera punching a guy during an arrest on Sunday outside a Mulberry convenience store. The Arkansas State Police launched an investigation Monday.
According to Col. Bill Bryant on Monday, two deputies and an officer have been placed on paid leave. According to the sheriff’s office, they were recognized as Mulberry policeman Thell Riddle, Crawford County sheriff’s deputy Zack King, and Levi White.
The three officers can be seen hitting a man in the head and repeatedly kneeing him as they pin him down in the brief footage that was extensively circulated on social media. At one moment, a passerby yells out to them, and an officer commands the individual recording to stop when he points at the camera.
Police said they were responding to an allegation of a man threatening people. The suspect was brought to the hospital, placed under arrest for a number of offenses, and eventually freed on bond.