If history is any indication, just because Kentucky State Police (KSP) have referred their findings in the Doug Harless investigation to a special prosecutor, this doesn’t mean that criminal charges will be coming against the London police officers involved in his Harless’ death, or against the officer, who fired the fatal shots.
Many of Harless family, friends along with members the general public have been clamoring for justice for the last 11 months, but they should prepare themselves for this possibility in the coming weeks or months that the justice they want won’t be coming.
If you live in either Laurel, Whitley or Knox counties, then chances are – unless you have been hiding under a rock – that you are familiar with the case of Doug Harless.
Shortly before 11 p.m. on Dec. 23, 2024, London police shot Harless inside of his home, which is located on Vanzant Road in the Lily community. Officers were attempting to execute a search warrant in connection with some stolen lawn care equipment but apparently went to the wrong address.
Harless died at the scene. Members of his family have filed a wrongful death lawsuit in his case.
Kentucky State Police have been tightlipped about the investigation thus far releasing few details about the case.
While their investigation isn’t complete, a KSP spokesperson confirmed last week that the agency has turned their findings over to a special prosecutor, Matthew Leveridge, who will decide whether to pursue criminal charges.
Leveridge is the Wayne County Commonwealth’s Attorney and was appointed as special prosecutor in the case by the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office after Laurel County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jackie Steele wisely recused himself from the case.
As Steele works closely with the London Police Department prosecuting criminal cases that the police agency has investigated, some might question his impartiality in this case.
For those unfamiliar with how officer involved shooting investigations work, KSP investigates almost all officer-involved shootings in Kentucky. The Kentucky State Police Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) is the specialized unit that handles officer-involved shootings.
They investigate pretty much every aspect interviewing the officer(s) involved in the shooting and witnesses. They collect evidence and measurements at the scene. They examine body camera footage, if there is any, along with any security camera footage from the area and numerous other factors.
At the conclusion of the investigations, KSP turns over their findings to the commonwealth’s attorney in the county where the shooting occurred. The commonwealth’s attorney is the lead prosecutor for felony cases in each Kentucky county.
The commonwealth’s attorney then decides whether to pursue criminal charges against the officer(s) involved in the shooting.
The commonwealth’s attorney will then usually present the case to the county’s grand jury, which will either decide to issue a true bill or an indictment in the case. The grand jury could also issue no true bill or no indictment in the case, or the grand jury can refer the case for further investigation, which simply means that the grand jurors want more or additional information about the case than what was presented to them before they make a decision.
In my three decades of experience, I have never seen a grand jury indict a police officer in connection with a local officer-involved shooting investigation.
However, most officer-involved shooting cases are much more cut and dry than the Harless case.
Often, officer-involved shootings, particularly fatal ones, take place when police are responding to a domestic dispute where subjects are already emotional, when they respond to crimes like an armed robbery in progress, or during a traffic stop. In this day and age, most police department have body cameras that record such instances, which takes a lot of guess work out of things for investigators, prosecutors and juries.
However, in the Harless shooting case, London had discontinued use of body cameras for police officers due in part to the cost of maintaining equipment and storing body camera footage.
Since the shooting, the City of London has found the money once again in its budget to equip officers with body cameras.
In the Harless shooting case though, there are several other factors at play, such as the police apparently going to the wrong address and police executing the search warrant late at night. Whether this and other factors mean that criminal charges should be filed, will ultimately be left up to the special prosecutor and probably a grand jury to decide.
All I am saying is that those “demanding justice” should mentally prepare themselves for the possibility that no criminal charges ever get filed against the police officer(s) involved in this case, and particularly the officer, who fired the fatal shots.
