Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – July 18, 2025 – A motion and plea appearance and expected jury trial for a former Jonesboro Police officer has been continued again.
Joseph Tucker Harris is charged with aggravated assault (Class D Felony), Filing a False Report with a Law Enforcement Agency, and Battery in the 3rd Degree (Class A Misdemeanor) in connection with an August 8, 2024 incident where Harris allegedly physically abused Billy Coram, a Craighead County Sheriff’s Department inmate he was transporting from St. Bernards Hospital back to the Craighead County Detention Center. The physical abuse was captured on body and vehicle cameras and was self-reported by the Jonesboro Police Department on a JPD social media post.
Harris allegedly attacked Coram again inside the Craighead County Detention Center.
Jonesboro Police Chief Rick Elliott fired Harris on Friday, August 9. Elliott later asked the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training to decertify Harris as a law enforcement officer. The Commission has yet to consider Elliott’s request.
Coram was allegedly attacked again a month following the August 8 incident while still in the Craighead County facility, this time by three inmates.
Motions and pleas were scheduled to be heard in Craighead County Circuit Court Thursday and Friday, July 17 and 18 with court time allotted for a potential jury trial August 4-15.
Thursday a circuit judge postponed the proceedings again. Motions and pleas are now scheduled for October 29 and November 6 with court time allotted for a potential jury trial November er 17-21, 2025.
The judge’s order also states that the delays will be excluded from the computation of time as it relates to Speedy Trial Rules.