Mulberry, Arkansas cop Thell Riddle Jr. placed on leave

Thell Riddle Jr.

Thell Fay Riddle Jr., 51, of Lavaca, Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States is an officer with the police department of Mulberry, Crawford County, Arkansas. The city is around 14.5 miles away from Kibler, Crawford County.

From March 2008 to February 2009, Riddle was a Kibler Police Department officer. From August 2009 to July 2010, he was a Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Department deputy in Sallisaw, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, USA.

In July 2010, Riddle became the chief of Gans Police Department in Gans, Sequoyah County. In March 2017, he joined the Mulberry Police Department.

Randall Worcester

On August 21, 2022, Riddle was caught on camera with Crawford County Sheriff’s Office deputies Levi Garrett White, 32, and Zackary King, 26, violently arresting Randal Ray Worcester, 27, of Goose Creek, Berkeley County, South Carolina, USA outside the Kountry Xpress store in Mulberry. Worcester was accused of threatening a store attendant.

The arrest was filmed by a bystander and the video was posted on TikTok. After the video went viral, the Mulberry Police Department placed Riddle on administrative leave.

During the arrest, Riddle, White and King subdued Worcester and pinned him to the ground. While Riddle did not strike Worcester, the Goose Creek man was kicked in the back and struck once in the midsection by King and punched in the head at least nine times by White.

Moreover, White lifted Worcester’s head and slammed it into the basement. After suffering head injuries from the assault, the Goose Creek man was treated in a hospital and booked into the Crawford County Jail in Van Buren, Crawford County.

Worcester was charged with second-degree assault, second-degree battery, resisting arrest, possessing an instrument of crime, terroristic threatening, criminal trespass, criminal mischief and refusal to submit. On August 22, 2022, a $150,00 bond was posted and he was released from custody.