10
Loading video...
By Marni Rose McFall
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
A police officer in Jonesboro, Arkansas has been fired after he was caught on video beating an inmate, who was being transferred from hospital, in the back of a patrol car.
Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliot told Newsweek that he fired Joseph Harris on Friday after he had received a complaint from the sheriff's office and reviewed the video.
"Due to the egregious nature of this incident. He was immediately terminated," he said in a phone call to Newsweek "It was unacceptable."
Read More on News
"Less than six hours after I reviewed the video, he was terminated."
Elliot stated that he has spoken with the local prosecutor, and been in conversation with the FBI Office in Little Rock in response to the incident.
...
The inmate in the back of the patrol car was a man named Billy Lee Coram.
Coram had been held at Craighead County jail on Monday on escape charges, and is wanted on out of state warrants, according to CBS News. He had been taken to hospital after telling jail staff he ingested fentanyl, and escaped the hospital. He was caught by Harris, who put him in the patrol car and transported him back to the detention center.
In the video, Coram is wearing a blue hospital gown and is seen panting, visibly perspiring and then choking himself with a seatbelt wrapped around his neck.
...
At one point, he asks, "are y'all trying to kill me?" A police officer in the front of the vehicle answers "no." Coram then says, "but you don't care" and a police officer responds, "not really, no." It is unclear which police officer says this.
The car is moving throughout the video. At one point, the car pulls over. Harris then opens the door and punches and elbows Coram several times. He later slams the car door against Coram's head.
Harold Copenhaver, the mayor of Jonesboro released a statement following the incident. "I've watched the video and I'm appalled because the officer's actions in that video are inexcusable."
"I'm upset and disappointment because we expect more from our officers. I fully support Chief Elliot's prompt action to terminate the officer. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated and merits investigation," Copenhaver said.
In 2022, Harris was suspended from the police force for 22 hours after he was caught on video throwing a man to the ground outside a Jonesboro nightclub, according to local news reports from the time.
In response to that incident, Elliot said, "It was excessive and I suspended him for that." Elliot confirmed that after his suspension, Harris had to go back to retraining for use of force.
...
At the time, Jonesboro Police Department issued a statement. "We are aware and very concerned about the use of force incident that occurred on July 10 in the parking lot of a Jonesboro night club."
"Upon learning of this event, we immediately began an investigation into the level of force used by the officers involved during the arrest."
In June, Harris, fellow officer Payton Perkins, and the City of Jonesboro were sued by the estate of a man who died in custody at the Craighead County Sheriff's Office.
Brock Austin Tyler died in May, and the lawsuit was filed in June. Attorney's alleged that Harris knew Tyner, "was a danger to himself and others," and said that if Tyner had been taken to the emergency room, "he would not have died," according to local news reports.
"We always ask supervisors to scrutinize their arrest videos after that, to make sure there's not any kind of patterns," Elliot told Newsweek. "We have a mechanism in place if officers have multiple complaints against them. Then there's a red flag that will pop up in the system."
"This wasn't the case with him," Elliot said. "The fact he had a couple of incidents over his five year tenure with a department, this was not indicative of his normal behavior."
Elliot also spoke to Newsweek about the decision to make the video public. He explained that he strives to be transparent with the public when he can.
He said, "A lot of times, when we get complaints, we feel we have to do an investigation."
"This incident was egregious enough, but I didn't need any kind of investigation. I didn't need a statement from him."
"Wrong is wrong," Elliot said.
On Friday, Coram was charged with third-degree escape/escapes from custody, according to local news. His court date is set for September 27.
Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines