A Cherokee Village police officer has pleaded innocent to a charge of second-degree battery in connection with the 2016 arrest of an Ash Flat man.
Attorney Chad Green entered the plea during 44-year-old Joshua Trivitt's arraignment Wednesday in Sharp County Circuit Court, according to Alisa Black, chief deputy clerk for Sharp County.
A trial date hadn't been submitted to the clerk's office as of Thursday afternoon, Black said.
Trivitt, of Agnos, was charged in connection with the Nov. 12, 2016, arrest of Randell Lee Veazie, who suffered a broken nose, a broken and dislocated jawbone, and deep cuts during the arrest, according to a police brutality lawsuit filed by Veazie against several officers and agencies.
Witnesses said Trivitt "body-slammed" Veazie to his kitchen floor and again outside his residence, both times while Veazie was handcuffed behind his back, according to a probable-cause arrest affidavit filed in Sharp County Circuit Court.
Jack Lowe, a Sharp County deputy who assisted with the arrest, said Trivitt body-slammed Veazie to the ground so hard that Lowe "felt the impact ... in his feet," according to the affidavit from Special Agent David Moss of the Arkansas State Police.
Trivitt told investigators that Veazie spit on him three times during the arrest. He said he took Veazie to the ground over his hip, but that he did not strike, hit or kick Veazie, Moss wrote.
Veazie's wife told investigators that she had called 911 to get her husband "some help" after he came home from drinking, according to an affidavit.
State Desk on 09/16/2018