A newly taken video shows a Jonesboro police officer slamming a young man after what appears to be an argument about another person’s arrest.
A video taken over the weekend in Jonesboro shows several JPD officers encountering young men following a rodeo event. As the video begins, one of the men is already in the process of being arrested. This seems to incense the crowd who begin to pepper the officers with questions as to why their friend is being arrested.
But the officers don’t answer. Instead, they ask the other young men if they’re the first suspect’s parents – saying it’s none of their business. One officer is clearly tense and losing his temper as the video progresses. This officer turns around and walks away from the young man – who continues asking why his friend was arrested. This ends up pushing the officer over the edge.
The officer instantly turns around and says he is arresting the young man (we later learned the charge was public intoxication). “For what?” the young man asks. “Turn around and put your fucking hands behind your back,” the officer says. Immediately, the officer grabs the suspect and body slams him down to the ground. Conveniently, the police report by this officer, Joseph Harris, says the young man tried to resist arrest and pull away, forcing the officer to take him down.
Other officers immediately rush to cover for their comrade, shouting “Get back” to the civilians filming events. The small young man posed no physical threat, although he continues his verbal tirade against the officer while under him.
Then, while laying on him, one of the cops demands he put his hands behind his back. You can see the angry cop, Harris, pinning his right arm to the ground at this same moment. The young man can’t move because his hand is trapped with the officer on top of him – and tells the police this. But in the report, Officer Harris falsely states that he was not on top of the man’s hand. The video shows otherwise, as seen in the still image below. The moment Harris releases the arm, it goes behind his back.
Jonesboro Attorney Mark Rees represents both of the young men in the video – the one in hand cuffs as the video begins and the one who was slammed.
NEA Report has reached out to Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliot for comment, as well as making the mayor’s office aware. We have also requested the incident report from the department for the outlined events from the officers.
JPD has begun an internal investigation into the incident. They’ve also issued a statement and the mayor’s office has commented as well. Click here to read those and more.
This cop and his attitude needs to not be on the police force…if that would have been my kid he did that too, YES we would be goin to court…The cop had an attitude from the beginning of it all…😡😡😡
Fully agree! Police officers should be ppl we can count on to do the right thing in all matters not let some teenager get to him to where he uses full force man strength to shove him down from a push in the back. What a coward.
Nea why are you slanting this story,trying to incite a riot,when the officer informed the kid he was also under arrest and reached for him he immediately ducked under and turned as the officer reached in and grabbed him,you need to watch those videos and really think about it,and mark Rees you should be disbarred,frivolous lawsuits man are you that broke???
He isn’t ducking he’s standing up straight. It seems like you need to look at the video
I watched the video, the kid did not resist, literally didn’t have time to resist. The cop was angry, and took that frustration out with physical violence. I will be filing a complaint today against this officer.
We watched the video and the officer was out of control and overreacted to the whole situation. Just a punk with a badge called out by possibly another punk…
The officer was being a dick, he slams someone down on concrete for running his mouth it’s obvious the officer was wanting to fight
You should watch closer if that’s what you are seeing! Just saying
This is uncalled for force due to the lack of the ability to control anger. Plus it is public information when someone gets arrested. The officer had an attitude from the beginning and allowed it to control his wrongful actions.
Another example of just how stupid and damned rotten Jonesboro rotters are raising their rotten bastards to be. Too bad the JPD officers didn’t shoot the drunken scum and anybody who complains about the cops actually doing their job and trying to keep the criminal element under some kind of control ought to be arrested too. Dang.
You’re next level with those beliefs… I mean come on the level of professionalism was 0 by police. Ego played the role in arrest, not the law. Arresting officer only made the arrest over trash talk as he was leaving, and decided to turn around and go the young man. Pretty corrupt looking systems and department. The police looked like a gang of thugs here. I support good police, these police do not appear to be and break several laws in this video from what I can see and hear. Hopefully there is justifie and repercussions involved. That’s some scary shit honestly. Yes they were calling the police bitches, that’s not illegal.. physically grabbing someone and hip throwing them on there face with strikes to arrest them for trash talk and being intoxicated is definitely not the way. Totally unexeptable behavior.
“To serve and to protect.”
Your comment screams white privilege. I know protocols he was wrong for letting his anger overcome him he should be punished if not prosecuted!
There’s no such animal as an “X marine” so all you are doing is proving you are a liar and a creep.
Wow you are a very angry person
I see NEA has its tyrants also, that protect an serve an up hold the Constitution doesn’t mean anything here either. I hope the young man gets them all fired an broke. People are so tired of the blue line gangs.
So they were working private security in full on duty uniform under the color of law, so did we “the taxpayer” pay for that or did the club they were working private security at?
Are we also paying for the car/gas these cops are using going to their private off duty security jobs?
It’s absolutely astonishing that so many here are spewing hate toward officers who were simply doing their jobs. The foul-mouthed, attitudinal, drunken losers who were arrested should be grateful that finally someone came into their miserable lives to try to teach them better behavior than their own families have ever done. Same goes for the mental midgets criticizing the officers for enforcing the law.
I’m only going by what I see on the video.
The young man asking the questions was yelling at the officer.
The officer seemed irritated because the kid wouldn’t listen.
I did not see the young man trying to resist even after the officer was holding him with both hands.
The takedown in my opinion was not justified.
What the officer told the kid, “it’s not your business” is probably true, but I do think it could have been handled better.
I have total respect for our law enforcement officers, but if I was the parents of the person forced to the ground, I would be upset.
I don’t know everything that was said, that sparked the officers reaction. I wasn’t there.
But the young man could have been more respectful.
Even if the officer was not obligated to tell him why they were arresting his friend, he really could have handled things better.
They shouldn’t have ended up hitting the pavement.
Again, I wasn’t there, and don’t know the whole story, but I probably would have pulled this kid off to the side, and advised him to call his friends parents.
The person being arrested was going to jail, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.
I maintain my respect for the law and those who enforce it, but the whole takedown should not have happened.
Wrong again, Bear. JPD was kinder than the filthy-mouthed drunken scum deserved. Too many in Jtown think they are above the law and that whatever they feel like doing to harm anyone else is just A-OK. Walk a mile in the law’s moccasins for a while and you’ll see.
This isn’t policing by feelings. The cop falsified an arrest report, unlawfully charged the arrestee and used excessive force to effect the arrest. Furthermore, the other cops allowed him to do so which makes them equally culpable.
The kid can say WHATEVER he wants to the cop, vulgarities and all. The only thing he cant do is threaten him. You are wrong and worse, you enable unprofessional cops to break the law. Grow up. Its a tough job, if they can do it correctly, quit.
He just got a paid vacation. If you’re put on leave “NOT WORKING” you shouldn’t get paid
video clearly shows the little big mouth punk pull away as the officer asked him to put his hands behind his back. If the punk had any respect for law enforcement, he wouldn’t be harassing the officers doing their job. Do as your told by law enforcement and this type of crap wouldn’t happen. Kudos to the officers involved. Sad thing is, he will probably loose his job at the very least. Sometimes officers go to far, but not in this case in my opinion.
Don’t settle, take it to trial and expose their ass. You can make them pay for your attorney fee’s also
Now all can see what they’ve been doing to other people’s kids, minority or otherwise.
The crime is what parents and grandparents are doing to the kids they claim they love, raising them to be filthy mouthed thugs who are enemies to themselves and everyone else.
This is America you have freedom of speech and if you don’t like that you can leave the kid has the right to say whatever he wants and should not get body slammed for it