Last month, when King County Sheriff's Deputy Matthew Paul gave Christopher Harris a hard push, Harris banged his head on a concrete wall. That much is documented by a surveillance camera mounted on the wall at the Cinerama movie theatre at Fourth and Lenora streets. But other details of the case are still unclear.
To recap: Paul and another officer were looking for a suspect in a beating and stabbing that occurred earlier that evening in Belltown. A witness identified Harris as the suspect. Witnesses said Paul and the other officer had identified themselves before a chase ensued.
Meanwhile, Harris, who was running away from Paul, (thinking the officer was an attacker?) is still in Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening skull fractures.
With all the cases of police brutality going on in the country, it would be easy to assume that Harris had tried Paul's patience and Paul took it out on him. If Harris was misidentified by the witness, why did he run?
It is generally understood that for a police force to function well, all its members must support one another. That's why a third-party needs to investigate the case.
That said, before any judgment is brought down, all information must be on the table. A rush to judgment serves no one. All too often, the wrong people get wronged.
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