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State police and federal officials launched investigations into the use of force against a man by Arkansas law enforcement officers that was captured on viral video, officials said Monday.
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The deputies and the officer involved were identified as Crawford County Sheriff's Deputies Zack King and Levi White and Mulberry Police Officer Thell Riddle, the sheriff's office revealed Monday.
At a news conference Monday, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the officers' conduct was "reprehensible."
"First of all, that is reprehensible conduct in which a suspect is beat in that fashion," he said. "We don't have all of the details, and certainly that suspect had a history of concern that was legitimate for the officers, but that response was not consistent with the training that they receive as certified officers with the Arkansas Law Enforcement Training Academy."
Hutchinson said that, in addition to a probe by Arkansas State Police, the U.S. Justice Department is also investigating.
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The sheriff's department said that the suspect was cooperative at first but that the men ultimately ended up in a physical confrontation.
Damante said at a news conference Monday that the suspect, who wasn't known to police, as he was from another state, became violent when officers were about to take him into custody. He said his officers' account of the incident matched what the viral video showed.
Damante said his officers "admitted that they had to use force to subdue him."
He said there is dashcam video of the interaction from the Mulberry officer's vehicle, which was handed to state police.
"The dashcam does bring to light other things that happened there, that initiated, that wasn't caught on the citizen's camera," Damante said about the video.
The sheriff's deputies didn't have body cameras. Damante said he is trying to get body and dash cameras for the department.
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He said that the FBI is expected to speak with state police Monday and that an internal investigation within the sheriff's office is underway.
The state investigators are focusing solely on the use of force at the store, and they will forward their conclusion, including possible recommended charges, to local prosecutors.
A detailed list of charges for which the suspect was booked, according to state police, includes: second-degree battery, resisting arrest, refusal to submit, possessing an instrument of crime, criminal trespass, criminal mischief, terroristic threatening and second-degree assault.
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