2 Arkansas Sheriff's Deputies Charged With Excessive Force

Photo: Screenshot

The Justice Department announced Tuesday that a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging former Crawford County, Arkansas, Sheriff’s Deputies Levi White and Zackary King with federal civil rights offenses for using excessive force on a 27-year-old man during the arrest of that man at a gas station in Mulberry, Arkansas, on Aug. 21, 2022.

Specifically, count one of the indictment alleges that, while the arrestee was lying on the ground, White struck him multiple times. Count two of the indictment alleges that King struck the arrestee multiple times, also while the arrestee was lying on the ground. The indictment further alleges that the arrestee suffered bodily injury as a result of White and King’s actions.

If convicted, White and King face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for the excessive-force charge; both defendants also face up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney David Clay Fowlkes for the Western District of Arkansas and Special Agent in Charge James A. Dawson of the FBI Little Rock Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Little Rock Field Office investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin Roberts and Devon Still for the Western District of Arkansas and Trial Attorneys Anna Gotfryd and Michael J. Songer of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.