On July 18,1991, a man who had shot and killed a police officer was found dead by the neighbor in whose house he had taken refuge after he had a shoot-out with a Pasadena, Texas Police officer.
The man, whose name was Marvin Harris, had an emotional and mental handicap and had complained to his family several times about the local police harassing him. On July 17, PPD officer Jeff Ginn entered Mr. Harris's backyard with his gun drawn where Mr. Harris was barbecuing.
Mr. Harris asked the officer to put down his gun, that he was doing nothing wrong. The officer accused him of burning marijuana in his barbecue pit and said he was under arrest.
Mr. Harris denied this and again asked the officer to put his gun away. When the officer refused, Mr. Harris went inside his house to retrieve an inoperative 22 pistol. When the officer saw it he opened fire on Mr. Harris but did not hit him. The only bullets found in Mr. Harris's backyard were from the officer's gun. Mr. Harris's 22 was tested several times after the incident and it consistently misfired.
When the officer ran out of bullets, Mr. Harris went back inside to get his M1 rifle. The officer ran from the backyard calling in that he was under fire and that he needed back up.
Before the officer could take off on his motorcycle, Mr. Harris came out his front door and began firing at the officer. The officer took a hit and as he attempted to make it across the street on foot, Mr. Harris shot him again, took his gun and then fled to a neighbor's house.
The neighbor later told the family that at no time did Mr. Harris point a gun at him or threaten him. Marvin told him what had happened and that he needed to use his phone as he did not have one, that he had shot a police officer in self defense and that he did not know if the officer was dead. Mr. Harris asked if he could use the neighbor's phone to call the FBI to come get him out of Pasadena because the PPD were certainly kill him.
Mr. Harris was found dead the next morning by the neighbor's wife. He was lying in the same spot where he had fallen asleep in her kitchen by the door to the garage where the Houston Swat team had congregated. He was in the same position as he was when she first checked on him to see if he was awake and wanted some breakfast. However, this time there was a pool of blood under his head.
Mr. Harris had written his account of what happened and told her to make sure his family got it because he was sure he would be murdered by the police if they were to take him into custody. The FBI had refused his request to be taken into custody by them.
The police had microphones on the garage wall and heard about the note. The neighbor's wife put in her bible for safe keeping but the police tore up her house looking for it and then took it without telling the family of its existence.
The family was told by the police that they could not see Mr. Harris's body because he had blown his head off with his M1 rifle. His family insisted on seeing him anyway and when they did, Mr. Harris's head was not only intact but the only damage he sustained was a clean shot through his left eye.
The family took photos of Mr. Harris's body which have been studied by an expert in suicides and it was deemed that there is no way Mr. Harris was shot with an M1 rifle. His face also was in a peaceful mode as if he was sleeping. The funeral home director said that was not the expression of a man who had committed suicide.
In 1994, the police report was smuggled out of the Pasadena Police Department and given to the Houston Chronicle who printed a front page story about the wrongful actions of the police officer whom Mr. Harris shot and whom Mr. Harris believed he killed in self-defense.
Since the incident it has been discovered that this officer was put into service by the existing mayor at that time as a favor to the officer's father and that he was never properly trained. The officer's gun was reported to be a silver Colt 45 with his name engraved on it and he was supposedly very "cocky" and a "lone ranger".
If Mr. Harris was executed by the police, then not only was his civil rights violated and his right to a trial by jury denied, but he was also murdered in cold blood and charges should be brought against those who ordered and caused his death.
According to the police report, there was no marijuana or any other drugs found in Mr. Harris's barbecue pit or house and none found in his body according to his autopsy report.
Mr. Harris's parents both died not long after the incident as the tragedy and injustice of it took a toll on their health. Mr. Harris's two sisters are still alive and have done a great job of getting on with their lives but they have many friends and other family members who would like to see what they believe to be the truth about how Mr. Harris died to be brought to light as well as have those responsible for his death be prosecuted and have the "suicide" cause of death be removed from his death certificate and be replaced with one of "homocide."
Sybil
London
United Kingdom
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