Two former Crawford County, Arkansas, sheriff's deputies have been sentenced to federal prison for civil rights violations involving the use of unlawful force on a man during an arrest. The sentencing hearings were conducted by Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey at the United States District Court in Fort Smith.
Zackary King, aged 28, received a sentence of 12 months in federal prison followed by one year of supervised release for Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law. Levi White, aged 33, was sentenced on October 9, 2024, to 63 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release for the same offense.
Court documents revealed that on August 21, 2022, White, King, and another officer approached a man identified as R.W. at a gas station parking lot while investigating a report of threats against a store attendant. After R.W. lunged at White and tackled him, all three officers subdued R.W. Once pinned to the ground and no longer resisting, King kicked R.W. in the back and struck him in the midsection with his fist. Concurrently, White punched R.W. multiple times in the head before lifting his head and slamming it into the pavement. The third officer did not participate in striking R.W., who sustained head injuries from the assault.
U.S. Attorney Clay Fowlkes of the Western District of Arkansas announced these developments.
The investigation was carried out by the FBI Little Rock Field Office, Arkansas State Police, and ARKTrust Task Force.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin Roberts and Devon Still for the Western District of Arkansas along with Special Litigation Counsel Michael J. Songer and Trial Attorney Lia Rettammel from the Civil Rights Division.