Arkansas police officer caught on dashcam punching handcuffed inmate in back of squad car

An Arkansas police officer has been fired after he repeatedly punched an inmate in the back of his squad car.

Joseph Harris was let go from Jonesboro Police on Friday after footage emerged showing him battering Billy Lee Coram.

Coram had escaped from police custody at the hospital, where he was receiving treatment for allegedly having ingested fentanyl.

He was begging to be returned to the medical facility and began deliberately trying to choke himself with his seatbelt when Harris exploded at him.

Footage shows Coram dressed in a hospital gown and socks with his hands bound behind him in the back of the cop car.

An Arkansas police officer has been fired after he savagely beat inmate Billy Lee Coram in the back of his squad car

He begins pleading with the police to take him to the hospital, claiming that he has ingested a baggie of fentanyl wrapped in aluminum foil.

'On my daughter's life, the only thing I care about in this f****ing world I have got fentanyl inside of me,' he yells.

However, Harris refuses to acknowledge his demands even as Coram continues to protest.

The inmate starts writhing around in the back and gets into a position where he starts choking himself with his seatbelt.

Eventually Harris pulls over and yanks open the door and delivers several brutal punches to the side of Coram's head.

He smashes him with his elbow and calls him a 'f***ing idiot' while continuing to assault him.

Only after he has struck him multiple times does Harris unwind the seatbelt from around Coram's neck.

Coram had escaped from police custody at the hospital, where he was receiving treatment for allegedly having ingested fentanyl

Officer Joseph Harris was suspended from his role with Jonesboro Police after footage emerged showing the beating

Harris was filmed punching and elbowing Coram as he lay defenseless on the back seat

As he lays limp on the back seat, another officer appears on the other side of the car and Harris slams the door shut on Coram's head.

Whilst the other officer checks to see if he is okay Harris reappears and starts using his baton to aggressively rub Coram's sternum to try and rouse him.

Eventually Coram begins squirming in discomfort and Harris slams the door on his head again.

Miraculously he escaped without injury and was returned to the county jail. 

A complaint was later submitted to Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott and he met with Harris and fired him immediately after viewing the footage. 

'The serious nature of the complaint necessitated prompt action,' the force said in a statement.

'Following an internal review of the incident, it was determined that the officer involved, Joseph Harris, should be terminated effective immediately.'

The force said it released the footage in the interests of 'transparency'. 

On two occasions Harris was seen slamming the door on Coram's head

 Coram managed to escape without injury and is now being held at Craighead County Jail.

 'I’m not proud of the fact the officer did what he did but I’m also not going to hide it,' Elliott said at a townhall meeting, NBC reports.

'It’s wrong today, it’s going to be wrong next week. There’s some internal affairs cases that come up that aren’t as clear on video. A lot of times it may take some days. But in this case, I really didn’t need anything.

'It was enough that I knew he didn’t need to be employed as a law enforcement officer. I will gather the facts after the fact.'

Harris had previously been suspended for excessive force in 2022 and is the subject of a lawsuit filed in June concerning a man who died in the Craighead County Jail.

Coram is being detained at the same prison on an escape charge and is awaiting extradition to Mississippi.