Former Arkansas deputy sentenced in kicking of arrestee

CONWAY -- A judge sentenced a former Faulkner County sheriff's deputy who was fired for using excessive force to 90 days in jail Friday.

Special Faulkner County District Judge Mark Derrick also fined Eugene Watlington, 44, of Vilonia $1,090 after finding him guilty last month of misdemeanor battery as a result of the May 4, 2015, arrest of Harvey Martin III of Conway.

Defense attorney Lee Short said he was filing an immediate notice of appeal to circuit court, a move that put Watlington's sentence on hold.

The key trial evidence was a video taken by a body camera that a Mayflower police officer was wearing at the time of the arrests of Martin and Christopher Cummings after a high-speed chase between Mayflower and Conway on the night of May 4, 2015. Martin was driving a Ford Mustang, while Cummings, a passenger, fired numerous shots at police vehicles.

Read more: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2017/apr/08/ex-deputy-sentenced-in-kicking-of-arres-1/