Four years ago, Phoenix police officers shot 19-year-old Jacob Harris repeatedly, killing him. Yet, that horrific tragedy was just the first in a series that has unfolded since January 2019: Harris’ friends sit in prison, forced into a plea bargain for a death that another man caused. In a searing piece of investigative reporting, Meg O’Connor lays out the many infuriating aspects to Harris’ murder. Make no mistake: This is crucial, urgent journalism.
Law enforcement officials in Phoenix—including Kristopher Bertz, the officer who killed Jacob Harris—have justified the shooting by saying they feared Harris intended to shoot them. But records obtained by The Appeal show that multiple officials have made inconsistent or false statements about the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Even Bertz’s own accounts of that night have differed slightly. Aerial surveillance footage of the incident shows Harris running away. And a judge in the criminal case against Harris’s friends has stated unequivocally that Harris did not turn toward Bertz.
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