The stepfather of a man who was held down and beaten by three Arkansas law enforcement officials, has spoken, and he's said he hopes the officers "burn."
Randal Worcester, 27, was tackled, beaten, and had his head slammed into the pavement by two sheriff's deputies and police officer on 21 August near Little Rock.
He has been recovering from minor injuries resulting from his scrape with the police. The officers who beat him have all been suspended without pay pending an investigation.
Eric Wedding, Mr Worcester's stepfather, spoke with The Daily Beast about the incident, saying it needed to be "highlighted by the media."
"I hope they burn," he told the site. "Enough is enough."
Deputies Zack King, Levi White, and Mulberry Police officer Thell Riddle encountered Mr Worcester while responding to a call at a gas staton. Staff called police after Mr Worcester allegedly spit on them and threatened that he would "cut off their face."
Mr Worcester allegedly shoved a deputy who was confronting him about the claims. The deputy fell and, police claim, Mr Worcester punched him in the back of the head.
Police already had Mr Worcester in handcuffs when they began punching him and slamming his head into the ground.
A woman can be heard in the background of the video telling the police not to beat the man, saying he needed his medication.
“We do not know what would happen if that person would not have been videoing,” Carrie Jernigan, one of Worcester’s attorneys, told CNN. “The fight was escalating with those officers and you hear that woman on that video yelling, and whoever that is, I think she could’ve saved his life.”
None of the law enforcement personnel involved in the incident were wearing body cameras.
After the confrontation with police, Mr Worcester had injuries to his face, head, ears, eyes, and knees, as well as numerous scrapes. He was treated at the hospital and was later released.
The Arkansas State Police have been asked to carry out the investigation into the law enforcement officers’ actions.
“The City of Mulberry and the Mulberry Police Department takes these investigations very seriously and holds all their officers accountable for their actions,” Mulberry police said in a statement said.
