Jonesboro PD release video of an officer beating a handcuffed suspect who tried strangling himself
By: -
0:00 - In-car video
6:49 - Strangling
7:39 - Beating
8:41 - Transport
11:53 - Bodycam
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A day after Jonesboro police released the personnel file of a former officer accused of beating a handcuffed suspect in the head, K8 News has acquired video of a sheriff’s deputy trying to intervene.
On the afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 8, inmate Billy Coram escaped the custody of Craighead County sheriff’s deputies while being examined at a local hospital.
Deputy Chris Ditto, who was about a block away, responded to the scene and found four Jonesboro police officers on Church Street. According to his initial incident report, Coram was on the ground in handcuffs.
Because he did not have a caged unit, Ditto asked Jonesboro Police Officer Joseph Tucker Harris to transport Coram to the Craighead County Detention Center.
While en route to the jail, Ditto said Harris stopped his patrol car on Willett Road, a short distance from the detention center.
“[Harris] jumped out and opened the back door and waved for me to come up,” Ditto said, adding that Harris “leaned in the car and started punching Billy multiple times.”
Ditto ran and opened the rear passenger door to find Coram “not moving.”
The deputy’s body-worn camera video showed him run back to the driver’s side of the cruiser as Harris pulled out an ASP baton and began a chest rub until Coram awakened.
Ditto can be heard on the video radio in the booking department, requesting a nurse be there when they arrived.
Once they got to the jail, Ditto said Coram and Harris were “still having words.”
“At that point, I and the detention staff had placed Billy against the wall trying to calm him down,” Ditto stated in his report. “Out of the corner of my eye, I seen Harris try to punch Billy again.”
Jail staff interceded and took Harris out of the room.
“The entire time in transport and at the jail, Billy was cuffed behind his back,” Ditto stated.
Ditto later contacted Detective David Bailey about the incident, who reportedly told him to make a report so it could be investigated. Bailey then contacted Captain Ron Richardson about the allegations of excessive force.
Richardson stated that on Friday, Aug. 9, he and Bailey reviewed Ditto’s body camera video.
While the video “did not provide a clear view of what was happening inside the patrol unit,” Richardson noted, observing “what appeared to be several blows thrown by the Jonesboro police officer.”
After reviewing the video from inside the sally port, Richardson then contacted Captain Stephen McDaniel with the Jonesboro Police Department about what had been observed.
“Captain McDaniel requested copies of all available video from the jail and Ditto’s body cam,” Richardson said in his report.
Later that same day, Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott announced that Harris had been terminated and released video from inside his cruiser.