PHOENIX — The father of a 19-year-old who was shot and killed by Phoenix police following an armed robbery with a group of teens in 2019 said he’s still fighting for answers.
Roland Harris, the father of Jacob Harris, is asking the city council to call on the U.S. Justice Department to release the findings from its full investigation.
In a one-on-one interview, Harris spoke with 12News five years after Phoenix police shot and killed his son.
“It’s always been anger, because I’ve never gotten the full truth, the full story,” said Roland Harris, Jacob’s father.
On Jan. 11, 2019, Jacob was with a group of friends who broke into a Whataburger near Dysart Road and Van Buren Street. Officers followed the group to 93rd Avenue and Camelback Road, where they tried to pull over their vehicle.
“They deployed a grappler to stop the vehicle,” Harris said.
Video from a police helicopter shows Jacob jumping out of the car and running toward a nearby Circle K. That’s when investigators said he pointed a gun at police and officers shot him in the back. Jacob was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
“Jacob was shot in the back twice," said Harris.
The officers involved in the shooting were cleared of any wrongdoing and a judge dropped Harris’ wrongful death lawsuit.
The case did not go to trial and was not revived by the appeal. However, Harris claims officers lied in their police report and that his son was unarmed.
The other three teens involved in the crime, Johnny Reed, Jeremiah Triplett, and Sariah Busani were charged with Harris' death.
In a previous interview with 12News, retired Phoenix police officer David Kothe analyzed the redacted body cam video and weighed in on the case.
“Sad situation,” Kothe said. "But in the end, I understand the angsting of the father, and I understand some thoughts of those in the community that are activists, but the police were only responding to this young man’s actions."
A police report shows Jacob pointed his gun at officers and was shot at least twice in the back. Phoenix police photos show a gun on the ground in the area where he went down.
“I would say there’s evidence from that video, if in fact what fell out of his hands was a gun, that during the course of his running, whether it was planned on the young man’s part or inadvertent, he was pointing a gun,” said Kothe. "There’s three parts of the law that justifies the use of deadly force in this situation.”
But still, Harris believes his son never pointed a gun at police and said he’s not giving up. In fact, he recently submitted a formal request, asking the Phoenix City Council to call on the DOJ to release more than just a summary of findings from its investigation.
Harris wants the city council to release all of the findings and the supporting facts uncovered by a federal investigation.
“There was a family petition drafted up and I presented it to the city,” said Harris.
His formal petition calls on the mayor and council to admit failing to hold Phoenix police accountable and admit to allegations still under review by federal authorities.
While the city staff recommended not conceding those points, they agreed to send a letter, asking the department to release the information Harris wants.
“We hope that the DOJ releases the report,” Harris said.
According to a City of Phoenix report, the DOJ made four formal requests for the production of documents, containing 234 specific requests.
In response, as of Feb. 1 of this year, the City of Phoenix has provided 179,258 documents, approximately 20 terabytes of data from multiple systems, 22,458 body worm camera videos, interviews of more than 130 city employees, and 200 hours of ride-alongs with PPD.
MORE INFORMATION>>>Timeline: DOJ investigation into Phoenix Police Department
Since the DOJ opened its investigation in August of 2021, the city has spent more than $7.5 million on costs associated with the investigation as of Dec. 31, 2023.
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