Thell Riddle Jr. biography: 13 things about Mulberry, Arkansas cop

Who is Thell Riddle Jr?

Thell Fay Riddle Jr. is an American cop from Lavaca, Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States. He attended Cedarville High School in Cedarville, Crawford County, Arkansas and he previously lived in Muldrow, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma, USA.

Aside from Lavaca, Riddle has lived in different parts of Arkansas including Cedarville, Farmington, Van Buren and Natural Dam. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. In February 2000, he became a Crawford County Sheriff’s Office deputy in Crawford County, Arkansas.
2. On September 8, 2000, his grandfather Theron Lee Riddle died at age 76.
3. On November 14, 2001, his father Thell F. Riddle Sr. died at his home in Hartman, Johnson County, Arkansas at age 53.
4. In January 2008, he was forced to resign from the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office.
5. In March 2008, he joined the Kibler Police Department in Kibler, Crawford County then in February 2009, the department fired him because of his involvement in a pair of domestic disturbances with his then-girlfriend.
6. From August 2009 to July 2010, he was a Sequoyah County Sheriff’s Department deputy in Sallisaw, Sequoyah County.
7. In July 2010, he became the chief of Gans Police Department in Gans, Sequoyah County.
8. At 1:19 a.m. on March 25, 2014, while he was the Gans Police Department chief, he was driving by North KCS Road in Gans when he noticed a home engulfed in flames and on April 7, 2014, Nathan Welsh was found dead inside the home.
9. On September 14, 2016, his aunt Katy Lou Cook died in Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas at age 60.
10. In March 2017, he joined the Mulberry Police Department in Mulberry, Crawford County.
11. In 2019, he disabled a police car by driving too fast into a flooded road while responding to help another officer in a pursuit so he was reprimanded by Mulberry Police Department chief Shannon Gregory for putting himself in danger and damaging city property.
12. The Mulberry Police Department placed him on administrative leave in 2022 but reinstated him in 2023.
13. In March 2025, he turned 54.

TIMELINE

2022

• In May 2022, he allegedly cursed a female Mulberry resident in front of paramedics and others at the scene of a call, which the medics confirmed according to the Arkansas Advocate.
• On August 21, 2022, he was caught on camera with Crawford County Sheriff’s Office deputies Zackary King and Levi Garrett White violently arresting Randal Worcester of Goose Creek, Berkeley County, South Carolina, USA outside the Kountry Xpress store in Mulberry. After a video of the arrest went viral, the Mulberry Police Department placed him on administrative leave.

2023

• On February 15, 2023, special prosecutor Emily White confirmed in a letter that she would not pursue any charges against him while the investigation against King and White remained open.
• On February 17, 2023, he returned to work as a Mulberry Police Department officer.
• On February 21, 2023, Mulberry Police Department chief Shannon Gregory confirmed that the department reinstated him.

2024

• On December 9, 2024, he received a certificate of appreciation from Mulberry mayor Gary D. Baxter in recognition of his efforts in securing an $82,700 for the Mulberry Police Department.