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Osceola Police Chief Resigns 13 Days After Appointment Following Viral Video

OSCEOLA, Ark . — The newly appointed police chief of Osceola has resigned less than two weeks after taking office following the release of a viral video showing him striking a man in a wheelchair.

Chief Robert “Bobby” Ephlin stepped down from his post on April 8, 2026, roughly 48 hours after the physical encounter occurred. Regional outlets, including KAIT-TV and WREG-TV, first reported on the incident, which has led to city administration calls for an independent review .

The incident took place on the evening of Monday, April 6, 2026, when Ephlin and several local officers responded to a disturbance at an apartment building regarding a dispute involving teenagers. Upon arriving at the scene, Ephlin engaged in a verbal argument with Danarius Williams, a local resident who has been paralyzed from the waist down since 2013.

Bystander footage shared widely across social media shows Ephlin slapping Williams across the face after Williams used profanity and explicitly told the chief to get his hands out of his face. The video also documents the chief grabbing Williams from behind and locking him in a headlock while neighboring officers on the scene stood by without physically intervening.

In a subsequent interview with reporters, Williams stated, Ephlin smacked and choked him while he was simply trying to ask questions regarding a separate threat involving his family.

Following the spread of the footage on Tuesday, Osceola Mayor Joe Harris Jr. publicly addressed the community, stating he was completely blindsided by the recording and emphasizing the administration does not condone such actions from city employees. To ensure transparency, Mayor Harris announced the city had initiated a formal review process to be conducted by an outside investigative agency.

Faced with public scrutiny, Chief Ephlin submitted his official resignation the following morning. In the resignation letter, Ephlin wrote he felt stepping away immediately was the best course of action for himself and his family. Mayor Harris subsequently appointed William Skaggs to step in as the interim police chief.

Despite the administrative changes, community frustration persisted after the Arkansas State Police officially declined to launch a state-level investigation into Ephlin's actions later that month. Because the state agency did not publicly specify its reasons for declining the case, local watchdog groups and the victim's family have continued demanding a full, independent review of both the incident and the city's internal department hiring policies.

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