Deputy's tackle leaves innocent man in coma
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SEATTLE -- A deputy's forceful tackle has thrown a local man into a coma, and it turns out the deputy had the wrong man.
Christopher Harris is 29 and has been married for just a year and a half, but his family members don't know whether he'll recover.
"The 270-pound young officer hit him, full-force, tackled him and drove his head into the wall," said Todd Keeling, Harris' stepfather.
Surveillance video from a Belltown convenience store captured the incident.
Witnesses said several men, some covered in blood, ran into the store after a knife fight. People directed King County sheriff's deputies to an alley near Fourth and Lenora, pointing out Harris. Harris was not involved in the fight, but he ran.
"This looks to be nothing more than an accident," said Sgt. John Urquhart.
Urquhart says deputies thought they were chasing a felon wanted in a knife fight. He said the 26-year-old deputy who brought Harris down didn't mean to hurt him.
"We're certainly not saying it's too much force, because we don't know what happened yet," Urquhart said. "It depends on the circumstances that led up to that. Clearly he had a reason to chase him."
But Harris' family is outraged. The man suffered multiple skull fractures and may not make it off of life support.
"Everyone, when we start our shift during the day, we don't go out there expecting to hurt somebody either by accident or on purpose. And when that does happen, it's terrible," said Urquhart.
"They carry weapons. They are weapons," said Keeling. "Especially a man of that size needs to use judgment, especially if they had several blocks. They didn't see him in the act to use judgment to not create this kind of scenario."
The King County Sheriff's Office is reviewing the surveillance video. As of Monday evening, the deputy was scheduled to return to work on Wednesday.
Christopher Harris is 29 and has been married for just a year and a half, but his family members don't know whether he'll recover.
"The 270-pound young officer hit him, full-force, tackled him and drove his head into the wall," said Todd Keeling, Harris' stepfather.
Surveillance video from a Belltown convenience store captured the incident.
Witnesses said several men, some covered in blood, ran into the store after a knife fight. People directed King County sheriff's deputies to an alley near Fourth and Lenora, pointing out Harris. Harris was not involved in the fight, but he ran.
"This looks to be nothing more than an accident," said Sgt. John Urquhart.
Urquhart says deputies thought they were chasing a felon wanted in a knife fight. He said the 26-year-old deputy who brought Harris down didn't mean to hurt him.
"We're certainly not saying it's too much force, because we don't know what happened yet," Urquhart said. "It depends on the circumstances that led up to that. Clearly he had a reason to chase him."
But Harris' family is outraged. The man suffered multiple skull fractures and may not make it off of life support.
"Everyone, when we start our shift during the day, we don't go out there expecting to hurt somebody either by accident or on purpose. And when that does happen, it's terrible," said Urquhart.
"They carry weapons. They are weapons," said Keeling. "Especially a man of that size needs to use judgment, especially if they had several blocks. They didn't see him in the act to use judgment to not create this kind of scenario."
The King County Sheriff's Office is reviewing the surveillance video. As of Monday evening, the deputy was scheduled to return to work on Wednesday.
