CRAWFORD COUNTY, Ark. — The jury trial and status hearing for Randal Worcester, the man seen being beaten during his arrest by Crawford County deputies in a viral video, have been delayed.
Worcester's attorney Robert Dicello requested the delay on May 26, 2023, asking for more time to gather Worcester's mental health records, so they could file a Notice of Intent to Raise the Affirmative Defense of Lack of Criminal Responsibility with the Court. Judge Marc McCune approved the delay on May 31, 2023.
His jury trial was continued to September 28, 2023 and his status hearing was continued to August 30, 2023.
Worcester, a 27-year-old man, alleges in a federal lawsuit that he was on his way to South Carolina on his bicycle and was traveling through Crawford County when two deputies (Levi White and Zack King) and a Mulberry officer (Thell Riddle) used excessive force while arresting him.
The violent video (Warning: Graphic) of the arrest taken the morning of Aug. 21, 2022, went viral. It was taken by a bystander at the Mulberry gas station where the arrest took place. In the video, there are three uniformed officers on top of Worcester kicking and at some points hitting him while he is on the ground.
The two Crawford County deputies were fired a month after the incident.
According to an FBI spokesperson, US Marshals took Levi White and Zachary King into custody on January 24, 2023, on charges related to excessive force in Worcester's arrest, and their trial date for the deputies is set for Dec. 11, 2023.
On Dec. 1, 2022, a special prosecutor requested by Crawford County Prosecutor Rinda Baker announced charges against Worcester related to the events before what was shown in the arrest video, including battery and resisting arrest.
The charges against Worcester:
- First degree terroristic threatening (felony)
- Battery in the second degree (felony)
- Resisting arrest (misdemeanor)
- Possessing an instrument of a crime (misdemeanor)
- Obstructing governmental operations (misdemeanor)
- Disorderly conduct (misdemeanor)
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