Former Arkansas police officer arrested after alleged beating

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A former Arkansas police officer who was fired after a video showed him allegedly beating a man handcuffed in the back of a patrol car was arrested last week.

Joseph Tucker Harris, 29, was arrested by Arkansas State Police on felony charges of aggravated assault, filing a false report and misdemeanor third-degree battery. Harris turned himself in at the Craighead County Jail in northeast Arkansas last week, the Arkansas Times reported.

Jail records show that Harris was released on a $15,000 bond, KAIT reported.

Since the incident, Harris has been fired by the Jonesboro Police Department and also faces a civil lawsuit, according to local news reports.

USA TODAY could not immediately find an attorney representing Harris.

What happened? In a video of the incident posted by the Jonesboro Police Department, a man can be heard telling officers he had swallowed a bag of fentanyl the day before, and thinks he will die unless he's taken back to a hospital.

At one point, the video shows the man unbuckling his seatbelt and laying down in the back seat, before an officer, later identified as Harris, opens the door and begins allegedly punching and elbowing the man's head repeatedly.

Another officer checks on the man and asks if he is alright, but the man is unresponsive after the assault. The officer then closes the car door by his feet.

The first officer returns and seemingly rubs him roughly in the chest with a tool, which causes the man to twist and groan, and then closes the door on his head.

The car then begins to drive as the man, still lying down, continues to yell and groan in the back seat.

Harris previously cited for use of force This is not the first time Harris has faced consequences for using force.

Two years ago, Harris received a 20-hour suspension without pay and further training from the police department for excessive force, Sally Smith, a public information officer with the Jonesboro Police Department, previously told USA TODAY.

He was additionally named in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in June, Smith said.

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

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