Ken Schram: No need to make tragedy worse
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My heart goes out to the family of Christopher Harris.
He's the young Edmonds man who may be left with permanent brain damage after being chased down by a King County sheriff's deputy.
But as much as I feel for Harris and his family, there's no way criminal charges should be filed against the deputy.
Officers were responding to what was thought to be a knife fight outside a Belltown bar back in May.
Harris was mistakenly identified as a suspect by a witness.
For whatever reason, the young man took off running when uniformed deputies went to talk with him.
After a chase of several blocks, one of the deputies slammed Harris into a wall outside the Cinerama Theatre.
He's been in the hospital with serious injuries ever since.
Last week, the King County Prosecutor said there was no basis to file charges against the deputy.
Now, my oldest son is about the same age as Christopher Harris, and I can only imagine what his family is going through.
Knowing what he knows now, I can only imagine what that deputy is going through.
To charge him would have just added another dimension of tragedy to a situation that could hardly be more tragic.
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Have something to say to Ken? Login or signup below to post a comment. Just be sure to read the rules and keep things civil. You can also e-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com.
He's the young Edmonds man who may be left with permanent brain damage after being chased down by a King County sheriff's deputy.
But as much as I feel for Harris and his family, there's no way criminal charges should be filed against the deputy.
Officers were responding to what was thought to be a knife fight outside a Belltown bar back in May.
Harris was mistakenly identified as a suspect by a witness.
For whatever reason, the young man took off running when uniformed deputies went to talk with him.
After a chase of several blocks, one of the deputies slammed Harris into a wall outside the Cinerama Theatre.
He's been in the hospital with serious injuries ever since.
Last week, the King County Prosecutor said there was no basis to file charges against the deputy.
Now, my oldest son is about the same age as Christopher Harris, and I can only imagine what his family is going through.
Knowing what he knows now, I can only imagine what that deputy is going through.
To charge him would have just added another dimension of tragedy to a situation that could hardly be more tragic.
---
Have something to say to Ken? Login or signup below to post a comment. Just be sure to read the rules and keep things civil. You can also e-mail him at kenschram@komo4news.com.
