JONESBORO, Arkansas (TND) — A police officer in Arkansas was fired after a video caught him physically assaulting a handcuffed man in the back seat of a patrol car.
On Friday, Jonesboro police said in a Facebook post that they had been “notified of a complaint regarding an officer-involved incident that occurred the previous evening.”
“The severity of the complaint required immediate action,” police continued. “After an internal review of the incident, it was determined that the officer involved, Joseph Harris, should be terminated with immediate effect.”
The department said it was dealing with the matter “as quickly as possible” and released the video “in the interest of transparency.”
*** WARNING: Some viewers may find this video disturbing. ***
In the video, the inmate repeatedly mentions that he has fentanyl in his body and needs to go to the hospital again.
He is then seen struggling to get the seatbelt around his neck and apparently trying to strangle himself before Harris stops the vehicle, opens the door and begins punching and elbowing the man in the head.
The seatbelt is then removed from the prisoner’s neck before he appears to be limp and unresponsive.
Another officer asks the man twice if he is OK before Harris wakes him up with a baton and closes the door, leaving the inmate’s head stuck between the door and the seat.
Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliot told KAIThe that he has communicated with the FBI and that a case has been opened in Little Rock.
“I was just shocked and appalled by (Harris’) conduct,” Elliot told the Associated Press. “Based on his conduct, I will not stand for it and will not tolerate it. I fired him immediately.”
In addition, AP reported that Harris was suspended two years ago for excessive use of force. He is also a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in June for an inmate who died in the Craighead County Jail.
Police recently came under renewed scrutiny after body camera footage showed the fatal shooting of 36-year-old black woman Sonya Massey, who called 911 and was shot by a police officer in her own home.
Former Deputy Sheriff Sean Grayson was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and abuse of office.
The National Desk reached out to the FBI’s Little Rock office for comment.
