A Jonesboro police officer was terminated last week after a videotape released by police showed him striking a man in the back of a patrol car. Officer Joseph Harris was terminated following the violent interaction, which happened on Thursday, August 8th.
In the video provided by the police, a man in a hospital gown that deputies had detained tells officers he had fentanyl wrapped inside aluminum foil that he ate. He grows agitated and upset while pleading with officers to listen before wrapping a seat belt around his neck to choke himself. The video shows Harris entering the backseat of the police vehicle to repeatedly punch and elbow the detained man. After removing the seat belt, Harris would then slam the door with the man’s head hanging off the side of the seat.
Harris was “terminated effective immediately.” The FBI office in Little Rock has opened a case into the incident.
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