Newly appointed Arkansas police chief resigns after slapping man in wheelchair in viral video

An Arkansas police chief has shamefully resigned just 13 days into his new gig for slapping a man in a wheelchair and putting him in a headlock during a heated, caught-on-camera confrontation.Osceola Police Chief Robert Ephlin handed over his letter of resignation to Mayor Joe Harris Jr.

on Wednesday after viral footage of the alleged attack surfaced, WREG reported.The viral video allegedly showed Ephlin standing over Danarius Williams after police were called to the Hyatt Apartments in Osceola following reports that Williams’ son and wife had been threatened by an armed individual.Williams admitted that he told the former chief to “‘get your F–king hands off me, get your finger up out of my face,'” as tensions rose between the pair during the encounter.“I didn’t touch him.

I didn’t hit him,” Williams said.The footage then shows Ephlin warning Williams before a slap is heard, causing Williams’ head to jerk to the side as onlookers react in anger.Seconds later, Ephlin allegedly placed Williams in a headlock as bystanders screamed for him to stop.“He smacked me, he smacked the hell out of me, and then choked me.

You came behind me in a chair,” Williams said.“I’m a paraplegic, can’t feel anything, can’t do anything from the belly button down.”Williams told Fox 13 Memphis he was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries, but said the emotional impact of the incident on him and his family has been far more significant.“I most definitely thought he could have choked me to death,” Williams said.

“I can’t do anything … I can’t run from you.I can’t get away.”In his resignation letter on Monday, Ephlin, who was sworn in on March 26, said it was an “honor” to lead the department, but that stepping down was the “best thing for me and my family.”Mayor Harris Jr.

expressed his fury when he first saw the footage of the viral incident.“It pissed me off.

I’m going to just say it, it did,” Harris said, ...