FORT SMITH -- The jury trial for two former Crawford County sheriff's deputies facing federal civil rights charges stemming from the use of force during an arrest that was recorded on video and went viral has been reset for April 22.
U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes signed an order granting a motion to continue the jury trial for Levi White and Zackary King on Monday, according to court records. Holmes presided over a hearing concerning the motion last week.
White and King were arrested in connection with a federal investigation and arraigned on one count each of deprivation of rights under color of law in U.S. District Court on Jan. 24. Their indictment, filed Jan. 11, accuses them of striking Randal Worcester, 28, of Goose Creek, S.C., multiple times while Worcester was on the ground during an arrest Aug. 21, 2022, causing injury.
Both men pleaded innocent, according to court records. Their trial originally had been set for April 3, 2023, before being continued in March to Dec. 11.
White and King were fired Sept. 29, 2022, with a recommendation for decertification due to "excessive use of force," according to records from the Arkansas Division on Law Enforcement Standards and Training. They had been suspended with pay after Worcester's arrest.
A hearing on their certification will be set once their criminal charges have been adjudicated, according to Cindy Murphy, communications director for the Arkansas Department of Public Safety.