PHOENIX — Nearly a month after the Department of Justice issued a scathing review of the Phoenix Police Department, the father of Jacob Harris is speaking out. His son has been at the center of a controversial Phoenix Police shooting that happened in 2019.
Roland Harris, Jacob's dad, said it was emotional to listen to the press conference announcing the DOJ's findings. His son was 19 when Phoenix Officers shot in him the back, killing Jacob.
ABC15 has covered the controversial police shooting from the beginning in January 2019. It started when SWAT officers were surveilling a group of teens suspected in a number of fast-food armed robberies. Police followed their car for eight miles with no lights, or sirens. Ultimately they used a grappler and deployed a flash bang, then shot Jacob as he tried to run away.
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Even though police pulled the trigger, it was Jacob's three friends — Johnny Reed, Suriah Busani, and Jerimiah Triplett — who were ultimately charged with his death due to Arizona's felony murder law.
"He told him if he was to take it to trial that he would definitely get life in prison," said Reed's aunt Shawanna Chambers back in 2023. "So basically, he was forced to sign this plea deal."
As ABC15 has previously reported, all three took plea deals before new information about the investigation was revealed during an excessive force lawsuit filed by Jacob's dad.
Those at the press conference Wednesday said they are demanding the release of Jacob's friends.
Roland's lawsuit and eventual appeal were dismissed in court. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office also cleared the officers involved of any criminal wrongdoing.
"We need accountability for the excessive force that Phoenix PD enacted, so there is real safety in our communities," said Jessica Walburn with Arizona Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander for Equity.
But Jacob's dad and other organizations said they won't stop fighting for change, pushing for federal oversight, and action from city and county leaders.
"Instead of trying to come out and say this report is false maybe you need to come out and do some self-accessing and say this report is not false, we need to make a change," said Roland.
ABC15 reached out to the Phoenix Police Department and the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association (PLEA) for a comment before Wednesday's press conference but did not receive a response.
