Footage from inside the patrol car, reviewed by PEOPLE, shows the officer punching the inmate repeatedly in the face and striking his chest with a baton.
Jonesboro Police Department/YouTube
Police car video shows Officer Joseph Tucker Harris beating inmate Billy Lee Coram on Thursday, August 8, 2024.
Still wearing a blue hospital gown, the Arkansas inmate was choking on his seat belt in the back of the police car when an officer began punching him repeatedly.
The Jonesboro Police Department released the Thursday, Aug. 8, footage taken inside the patrol vehicle the next day, identifying the officer as Joseph Harris, who police said in a Facebook statement was quickly fired from the force.
“The seriousness of the complaint demanded swift action,” the department said in the statement, noting that a quick internal review of the incident was conducted and that they were posting the video on their YouTube page “in the interest of transparency.”
PEOPLE has reached out to the Jonesboro Police Department and Chief Rick Elliott for more information on the case. The department confirmed receipt of the email, but did not immediately respond to a list of interview questions.
However, in an interview with The Associated Press, Elliott said he was “just shocked and appalled” by the former officer’s actions, adding: “Given that conduct, I’m not going to accept it and I’m not going to tolerate it, and I immediately terminated him.”
Elliott told the AP that he had contacted the FBI office in Little Rock about the incident and planned to formally ask the state to decertify Harris as a police officer.
“What’s wrong is wrong,” he said. “There’s not really anything to investigate.”
PEOPLE was unable to obtain Harris’ phone number, and it’s unclear whether he has retained an attorney.
Jonesboro Police Department/Facebook
Joseph Tucker Harris
The nearly 12-minute video, shot from the back of the police vehicle, shows the inmate — identified by the AP as Billy Lee Coram — breathing heavily and begging officers in the front to take him back to the hospital, saying he had ingested fentanyl and would die if they sent him back to jail.
“Are you all trying to kill me?” Coram asked. “I want you to listen to me, but you don’t care.”
“Not really, no,” one of the officers in the patrol car replied from the front.
Later in the video, Coram — a 42-year-old man who was arrested Wednesday, Aug. 7, on various charges including evading custody, according to his online booking information — looked into the camera pointed at the back seat, saying, in part, “I have fentanyl in me, so when I die in prison, it’s going to be your fault.”
Craighead County Sheriff’s Office
Billy Lee Coram in a mug shot.
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Coram then began adjusting his blue seatbelt, wrapping it around his neck. Lying in the vehicle, he pulled on the belt with his foot, choking himself.
The officers stopped and, opening the back door, the officer identified as Harris struck Coram four times in the head.
Then, using his elbow, Harris bumped Coram’s shoulder twice.
Harris then beat him four more times in the face before removing the belt from Coram’s neck.
At another point in the video, Harris pulled a stick out of his pocket and struck Coram hard in the chest.
Coram let out a cry and rolled over onto his stomach, moaning.
Jonesboro Police Department
Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott.
Jonesboro City Attorney Carol Duncan, who is not involved in the prosecution, said in an email to PEOPLE that the incident will be reviewed by the Craighead County 2nd Judicial District Attorney to determine charges, adding, “The investigation is being conducted by investigative agencies other than the Jonesboro Police Department, as is their policy, so there is no concern that the investigation was biased in any way.”
According to the AP, Harris was suspended two years ago for using excessive force and is among the defendants in a lawsuit filed in June over the wrongful death of an inmate who died at the same prison where the inmate in the video was returning.
As of Tuesday, August 13, Coram remains in custody at the Craighead County Jail, according to his online inmate roster.
The Craighead County Sheriff’s Office and Jail did not respond to PEOPLE with additional information about the incident in time for publication.
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