A man charged with stealing a new $24,000 UTV from a dealer in Mountain Home has filed a federal lawsuit against a former Jonesboro Policeman alleging excess force.
JONESBORO MAN ARRESTED AFTER STEALING NEW 4-WHEELER AND WRECKING IT NEAR MOUNTAIN HOME
Coram who lists a Jonesboro address filed his lawsuit against former policeman Joseph Harris, the City of Jonesboro and Police Chief Rick Elliott September 24.
Coram alleges that he was beaten by Harris on August 8 while he was in the back of a patrol car handcuffed “and utterly defenseless.”
The incident leading to the alleged beating began when a vehicle in which Coram was a passenger was pulled over by Craighead County sheriff’s deputies.
The lawsuit claims Coram panicked at the sight of the lawmen and swallowed a bag of Fentanyl that was inside the vehicle.
He is reported to have told the deputies what he had done and to have said he feared the potential ill effects of his act.
Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug used for pain relief and as an anesthetic. Fentanyl is said to be 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.
The deputies took him to a hospital where he received emergency treatment. While at the facility the lawsuit alleges Coram again panicked and ran out of the facility.
It is not the first time Coram is reported to have claimed he has ingested drugs, been taken to a hospital for treatment and taken off. A similar incident took place in Mississippi in mid-July.
When Coram was apprehended after leaving the Jonesboro hospital, he was placed in Harris’ custody to be taken to the Craighead county jail.
While riding in Harris’ patrol car, Coram was reported to be handcuffed, wearing a hospital gown and without shoes.
During the trip, Coram is alleged to have had what was described as a severe panic attack and was convinced doctors at the hospital had failed to locate the Fentynal and that if the drug flooded into his system, he would die.
At one point, Coram was said to have become so desperate that he looked up at the camera that showed the backseat of the patrol car and “pleaded for help” from anyone who might be “listening to or monitoring the feed.”
Coram also attempted to dislodge what he felt was the small bag containing the Fentynal by wrapping a seatbelt around his neck in an effort to gag himself.
When Harris saw what Coram was doing, he stopped his patrol car, opened the back door and began to “violently” assault the detainee.
In the lawsuit, it is alleged that Harris punched and delivered elbow strikes to Coram’s head.
During the altercation, Harris was reported to have slammed one of the rear doors of his patrol car on Coram’s head knocking him out.
The entire incident was filmed by a video camera installed in the police car. In the lawsuit it alleges the officer, “did not feel constrained from using grossly excessive force on Coram even though the camera was running . . . because of his perception that the use of excessive force would be ignored, tolerated and/or not appropriately disciplined.”
Because of his confidence that the incident would be “swept under the rug,” Harris is alleged to have lied about the encounter even though the events were on videotape, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims city officials knew or should have known that Harris, who was alleged not to have been properly trained in police work “had an established and well-known employment history of using excessive force, engaging in deceptive practices and threatening law abiding citizens.”
Several incidents are laid out in the lawsuit in which it is alleged “excessive force” was used by Harris.
Despite the initial incident, Harris was promoted to K-9 handler.
The lawsuit alleges that at another time Harris used excessive force, he had turned off his body camera. However, the event was recorded by another officer’s camera and by a friend of the victim.
The friend posted the video on-line and after it went “viral,” Chief Elliott made a statement expressing “concern” about the excessive force incident.
The lawsuit alleges Chief Elliott’s statement was made necessary when the victim’s friend posted the video he had taken of the incident.
The fellow officer with Harris the night of the incident had an active bodycam but, according to the lawsuit, did not report the event to superiors or make the videotape available.
The city is included in the suit because of “the existence of a continuing widespread, persistent pattern of unconstitutional misconduct by the governmental entity’s employees.”
The suit seeks, “a judgment against the defendants in an amount which will fully and fairly compensate him for the damages suffered.”
Two Little Rock attorneys are representing Coram.
BEATEN BY FELLOW INMATES
Coram was also reported to have been physically attacked by three of his fellow inmates in the Craighead County jail earlier this month. The three are expected to be charged with aggravated assault and bond was set at $50,000 cash only. They are to be in Craighead County Circuit Court October 28.
Coram is being held in the Poinsett County jail for security reasons after the altercation in the Craighead County jail.
THEFT CHARGES AWAIT IN MISSISSIPPI
In mid-July, Coram was involved in burglarizing a city-owned building and motor sports-type dealership in Pearl, Mississippi.
The city of almost 30,000 is located across the Pearl River from Jackson, the state capital.
Coram and a man who listed an address in Provo, Utah were accused of stealing ATVs and UTVs and tools from the two locations.
Both men were arrested the day after the burglary at a safety checkpoint. They were taken to a hospital after claiming had ingested narcotics.
They escaped from the hospital. The Utah man was picked up shortly after the escape. Coram was not arrested until he was picked up in Jonesboro.
According to the Pearl Police Department, Coram will be extradited from Arkansas at some point and charged with the thefts in Mississippi.
THEFT HAMPERS TEACHING AT TECH CENTER
Records show that Coram has been involved in criminal acts for a lengthy period. In early 2010, for example, he was arrested along with another man for stealing about $45,000 worth of equipment and tools from the Arkansas State University Technical Center in Marked Tree. The pair was also accused of stealing a 2003 Ford F-150 Harley Davidson Edition from the auto body shop on the campus.
The number of items stolen was reported to have made it difficult to teach classes at the Technical Center. ASU official said the theft resulted in a loss of 60 percent of the shop’s tools.
Coram is due back in Baxter County Circuit Court October 14.
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