State chooses special prosecutor in excessive force case

State officials have selected a special prosecutor who will decide whether to charge the officers who were recorded beating a man they arrested.

Emily White will serve as the special prosecutor who will decide whether to charge Levi White and Zack King, both Crawford County sheriff's deputies, and Mulberry Officer Thell Riddle after they were videoed beating Randal Worcester while they arrested him.

A spokesman for the Arkansas State Police said the investigative report has been submitted to Crawford County.

White has served as a prosecutor since March when she took the position. She attended law school at the William H. Bowen School of Law in Little Rock. White has spent her entire career in the state of Arkansas.

Officials have yet to announce a court date associated with the incident.

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating the arrest of Worcester, who was punched in the head and kneed in the side as he was held down on the pavement during the arrest. Video released since the arrest shows Worcester tackling White before he was beaten. White suffered a concussion when his head hit the pavement.

Worcester had been accused of making threats to an Alma store clerk before the rough arrest in Mulberry.

This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Special prosecutor to decide whether to charge officers