Bystander Cell Phone Captures Arkansas Officers Using Excessive Force

Two Crawford County Deputies were suspended and a Mulberry Police Officer is on administrative leave after a video surfaced showing a violent arrest, causing outrage on social media.

In the video, the three law enforcement officers are seen on top of the suspect, allegedly using excessive force, at a convenience store in Mulberry, Arkansas on Sunday, Aug. 21.

According to Sheriff Jimmy Damante with the Crawford County Sheriff's Office (CCSO), around 10 a.m. Sunday, Alma police officers were called about a man making terroristic threats to a convenience store employee. The suspect allegedly spit on the employee and threatened to "cut off their face."

Sheriff Damante says the man then traveled on a bike to Mulberry, near Exit 20, where the Mulberry officer and the deputies met with him. The conversation began calm, but the sheriff says the man then began attacking one of the deputies by pushing him to the ground and punching the back of his head, leading to what was seen in the video.

In the video, the deputies and the officer are seen holding the man down on the ground, kneeling on him and slamming his face to the ground. Arkansas State Police are now investigating the incident while CCSO holds an internal investigation.