An Arkansas police officer who was caught on camera beating a handcuffed inmate in the back of a patrol car has been fired and his case has been referred to prosecutors, the police chief said.
Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott fired Joseph Harris on Friday, a day after he was caught on camera in his patrol car elbowing and punching the handcuffed man and then slamming the car door on his head after the man choked himself with a seat belt.
Elliott said the inmate, Billy Lee Coram, who is white, was in the custody of the sheriff’s office and was being treated at a hospital for allegedly ingesting fentanyl during his escape. He was apprehended by Harris and was being returned to the county jail when the assault occurred, Elliott said. He said that to his knowledge, Coram suffered no lasting injuries.
“The seriousness of the complaint necessitated swift action,” the department said in a statement Friday. “Following an internal review of the incident, it was determined that the officer involved, Joseph Harris, should be terminated effective immediately.”
Earlier in the nearly 12-minute video, Coram, 42, appeared visibly distraught and said he had ingested a bag of fentanyl the day before and that it showed up on an X-ray taken at the hospital, but that a hospital employee told him it wasn’t visible on the X-ray, according to the video posted on the police department’s YouTube page. He was dressed in a hospital gown and socks. Coram said he expressed his concerns to several nurses and was rebuffed, but was eventually able to show the package on the X-ray to a doctor who then sent him to intensive care, according to the video. Coram also said he hadn’t used the bathroom since ingesting the fentanyl. He then wrapped a seatbelt around his neck as the car rolled in an attempt to choke himself.
After the car stopped, Harris opened the door and repeatedly punched and elbowed Coram in the face as he unbuckled the seat belt from around Coram’s neck.
According to a police report based on Harris’ account, Coram “was extremely upset” en route to jail and intentionally wrapped the seat belt around his neck, pushed his feet up into the car and stretched “in an attempt to strangle himself.” He could be heard gurgling as he did so, the report said. Harris said in the report that he struck Coram in the face with a closed fist and his left elbow “to loosen the seat belt.”
“When I started doing that,” Coram “twisted his body again to the point where I couldn’t reach the seat belt to get it off his neck,” Harris said. He said he closed the door and injured his elbow.
He said he opened the door again and saw that Coram had his eyes closed and wasn’t moving. So to make sure he was alert, Harris said, he “gave him a sternum rub.” A sternum rub involves applying hard pressure to the center of a person’s chest who may not be alert. He said Coram “eventually woke up” and was taken to jail “without further incident.”
In an interview Tuesday, Elliott, the police chief, said he learned of the video Friday morning after receiving a complaint from the county sheriff’s office.
Hours later, he met with Harris and immediately fired him because of his conduct and actions. Harris had been with the department for just over five years. Elliott said he informed Greene County Prosecutor Sonia Hagood of the case and she assured him she would review the video and decide whether to file charges. Hagood did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Elliott said he also contacted the FBI’s Little Rock office, which he said had opened an investigation.
Cody Brooks, a spokesman for the FBI’s Little Rock office, said the agency was aware of the meeting but, under its policy, could neither confirm nor deny the existence of an investigation.
At a public meeting hosted by the Craighead County NAACP on Monday, Elliott said he shared the public’s outrage.
Elliott said he quickly released the video because it was the right thing to do and he wanted to be transparent.
“I’m not proud of the fact that the officer did what he did, but I’m not going to hide it either,” he said at the town hall.
And on Tuesday, he said, “It’s false today, it’s going to be false next week. There are internal matters that come to light that aren’t as clear on video. Oftentimes, it can take days. But in this case, I really didn’t need anything. I just needed to know that he didn’t need to be hired as a law enforcement officer. I’ll gather the facts after the fact.”
Coram is being held at the Craighead County Jail on an escape charge and is wanted for extradition to Mississippi, a jail official said. It is not immediately clear whether he has an attorney. Coram is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 27.
Elliott also said he would request that Harris be decertified and added to a national database to prevent him from working in law enforcement again.
Harris could not immediately be reached at the phone number provided to him.
Mayor Harold Copenhagen said he watched the video and was “appalled” by it because Harris’ actions are “inexcusable.”
“I am upset and disappointed because we expect more from our officers,” he said. “I fully support Chief Elliott’s quick decision to terminate the officer. This type of behavior will not be tolerated and deserves an investigation.”
Elliott said Tuesday that he had suspended Harris in 2022 for using excessive force. Harris is one of the defendants in an ongoing lawsuit filed in June against a man who died in the Craighead County Jail this year.
