cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18621322

“I’m not proud of the fact the officer did what he did, but I’m also not going to hide it,” the Jonesboro police chief said in explaining his decision to release the bodycam video.

An Arkansas police officer who was caught on video 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 his patrol car video elbowing and punching the handcuffed man and then slamming the car door on his head after the man choked himself with a seatbelt.

Elliott said the inmate, Billy Lee Coram, who is white, had been in the custody of the sheriff’s office and was being treated at a hospital for allegedly having ingested fentanyl when he escaped. 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 had not sustained any lasting injuries.