A Coweta County deputy who shot a man driving a U-Haul van during a police chase last year, leaving the suspect paralyzed, will not face criminal charges in the incident.
Jackie Harris was shot three times during the chase on Oct. 11, 2020, according to Coweta Judicial Circuit District Attorney Herb Cranford. One of the shots hit Harris’ spinal cord and left him paralyzed.
Before Harris was shot, Coweta deputies attempted to use multiple PIT maneuvers and spike strips to stop the fleeing van. According to Cranford, Georgia law does not require law enforcement officers to attempt less-than-lethal force before using deadly force in such a situation, and the deputy could have legally used deadly force much earlier in the 16-minute chase.
The deputy who shot Harris was justified in his use of deadly force and will not be prosecuted, Cranford concluded.
“The District Attorney’s Office has spoken with Mr. Harris’ family to explain our analysis of this matter and we sympathize with Mr. Harris’ resulting medical condition,” Cranford said in a news release.
According to a GBI investigation into the shooting, the incident began just after 9:15 p.m. on that October 2020 night. Coweta deputies responded to a call about two men breaking into tractor-trailers at a BP gas station at exit 41 off I-85. The two men, one of whom was Harris, were found at a nearby Pilot Travel Center, where they continued their attempts to break into tractor-trailers, authorities said.
The men were traveling in a rented U-Haul van and fled when deputies tried to confront them, according to Cranford’s announcement. The U-Haul pulled out of the parking lot, hitting another car before heading south on Ga. 27 toward Moreland, then turned onto Ga. 29 toward Grantville as multiple deputies chased it with their lights and sirens activated, Cranford said.
The U-Haul was often on the wrong side of the road, Cranford said. It was too large and heavy for deputies to perform PIT maneuvers, and spike strips were deployed multiple times and failed.
The U-Haul eventually led the pursuing deputies onto I-85, where it dangerously passed a tractor-trailer and tanker truck, according to Cranford. At that point, a deputy “with supervisory authority” decided to use deadly force. He pulled alongside the U-Haul and fired into the cab three times with no result. The deputy tried the maneuver a second time, hitting Harris with all three shots. With Harris wounded, the U-Haul came to a stop on the bridge over Bullsboro Drive. The chase covered about 19 miles.
“Given that the nature of Mr. Harris’ driving made him a suspected felon, officers were permitted to use deadly force to apprehend him because it was reasonable to believe that Mr. Harris posed an immediate threat of physical violence to every other person on the road,” Cranford said.
After reviewing the results of the GBI’s investigation and choosing not to pursue charges against the deputy, Cranford said his office now considers the matter closed.
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