Judge: Police created ‘violent confrontation’ that led to Kentucky man’s death
An Eastern Kentucky sheriff and deputy created a “needlessly violent confrontation” that ended in a fatal shooting, a federal judge said in a ruling.
An attorney for the Owsley County officers, Kelly Shouse and Michael Havicus, sought a summary judgment dismissing claims against them over the shooting.
U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier dismissed some claims in the lawsuit against the two, but preserved others for a jury to decide, including whether Shouse and Havicus used excessive force.
The shooting happened on March 22, 2017, when Shouse and Havicus went to talk to Charles Harris, 42, after his girlfriend said he had shoved her, according to the court record.
The girlfriend told Havicus that Harris kept knives and might be dangerous.
Shouse was sheriff at the time but lost re-election in 2018. Havicus was a deputy under Shouse.
Harris wouldn’t open the door to his apartment in Booneville when the officers arrived, so Havicus called for help from Harris’ sister, Vickie Hacker, who managed the apartment complex where he lived.
Harris cracked the door a few inches for his sister but said he wouldn’t come out and didn’t want the police to come in, according to her testimony.
However, Shouse laughed and said “Well, I’m going in anyway,” Hacker said, according to Wier’s recounting of her statement.
Harris kept telling the police he wanted them to leave and then went to his bedroom and closed the door.
Havicus said he followed, kicked the door off its hinges, and found Harris with a knife in his right hand.
Havicus said he backed away through the hall and into the living room, while Shouse backed into the kitchen as Harris advanced.
It was a chaotic situation, with two of Harris’ children present along with Hacker, and Havicus, Shouse and others yelling at Harris to drop the knife, according to witnesses.
Havicus said that after he retreated as far as he could go, with his back against the front door, Harris “kind of lunged toward me” with the knife.
Havicus fired one shot with his .40-caliber Glock handgun, hitting Harris in the chest.
Kentucky State Police investigated and presented findings to a local grand jury, which did not return criminal charges against the officers.
That doesn’t mean they couldn’t be held at fault in a civil lawsuit, however.
Wier granted summary judgment in favor of Shouse and Havicus on some claims, dismissing an allegation that they were deliberately indifferent to Harris’ medical needs after the shooting, for instance.
Wier found that Shouse quickly called an ambulance for Harris.
However, Wier said a jury will have to decide other claims, including whether it was reasonable for Havicus to shoot Harris.
The judge denied qualified immunity to Shouse for allegedly failing to intervene to stop Havicus, and also said Shouse did not enjoy qualified immunity on an allegation that he used too much force when he allegedly roughly shoved Hacker and Harris’ children out of the apartment after the shooting.
Wier also ruled that Shouse and Havicus illegally entered Harris’ apartment.
Wier said the officers would not have had cause to arrest Harris the night of the confrontation for allegedly being abusive to his girlfriend. The reason is because that would have been a misdemeanor, and without a warrant, state law only allows police to arrest people on misdemeanor charges if they witness the crime.
Wier said it also was clear that Harris did not give consent for the officers to enter his home, yelling at them to get out and then going to his bedroom.
“This is not, under any reading, the conduct of a consenting homeowner; the Constitution forbade the entry,” Wier wrote.
Shouse and Havicus “in several concerning respects showed little regard for the limits on police power enshrined in the Bill of Rights,” Wier said. “The avoidable interaction between them and the Harris family, at Charles Harris’s home, cost Harris his life and surely marked forever the lives of his minor children.”
The attorney for the officers, Jeffrey C. Mando, said they continue to maintain they had consent to enter the apartment and did not use unreasonable force.
“It was Mr. Harris who escalated this situation,” Mando said.
Harris’ estate, his sister and his children sued the officers and the county. Covington attorneys Benjamin T.D. Pugh and Christipher Roach represent the family.
Wier said Harris’ family has presented some evidence that Harris was not advancing toward Havicus or close enough to hurt him when Havicus shot him.
However, the officers also have presented evidence to support their argument that the shooting was justified, Wier said.
Witnesses have given conflicting accounts on whether Harris was pointing a knife at Havicus, though two of Harris’ family members told state police they saw him carrying a knife and later testified they didn’t see a knife, according to the court record.
Judges grant summary judgment in civil cases only if there is no genuine dispute on any material fact in the case.
The case involving Harris’ death will have to be decided by a jury because there are disputes over what happened, Wier said.
The law required resolving the questions in favor of Harris’ family at this stage of the lawsuit.
Havicus was accused in an earlier case of assaulting a man without cause. A federal lawsuit in that case was settled without disclosure of the terms.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 1:38 PM.
