An Arkansas police officer, Joseph Harris, has been fired after a video surfaced showing him allegedly beating a man who was handcuffed and detained in the back of a patrol car in Jonesboro. The incident led to an internal review by the Jonesboro Police Department, which determined that Harris should be terminated immediately following the serious nature of the complaint.
The video showed the man telling officers that he had swallowed a bag of fentanyl and needed to go back to a hospital. Harris is then seen punching and elbowing the man’s head repeatedly before rubbing him roughly with a tool, causing the man to groan in pain. Another officer checked on the man but received no response, closing the car door on him before the patrol car began driving with the man still in distress in the back seat.
Harris had previously faced consequences for excessive force, receiving a suspension without pay and additional training from the police department about two years ago. He was also named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in June. The FBI’s Little Rock office has since launched an investigation into the incident, with Jonesboro police cooperating. The video of the alleged assault has raised concerns about police brutality and accountability in law enforcement.
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