The family of a teen, who was shot in the back and killed by Phoenix police officers, has lost their appeal in a federal lawsuit, which now effectively ends the case.
Last year, a district judge dismissed the case after ruling no reasonable jury could find the officers’ actions were unjustified.
Video in the player above is from previous coverage of the shooting
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that decision on Thursday by finding that multiple claims made on appeal by the family’s attorney were not enough to overcome the ruling.
Jacob Harris was killed in January 2019 by Phoenix SWAT officers who were surveilling a group of teens suspected in a series of fast-food armed robberies.
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A panel of three judges heard the appeal last month.
The in-person hearing did not dive deeply into the underlying facts or evidence of the case and instead largely focused on legal and procedural issues that also were part of the dismissal.
But the judges did question both sides specifically about whether or not the teen was holding a gun when he was shot.
“Is that a disputed fact? You clearly see something flying from his hand,” asked Judge Joseph Bumatay.
An attorney for the city responded, “The plaintiff is disputing that. I don’t think there’s any reasonable way to dispute that.”
Aerial video from a police surveillance plan shows something leaving Harris’ hand as he’s shot from behind.
The Harris family believes the object was a cell phone and that the gun was planted.
“What we have is a video showing something flying out of a hand,” said Steve Benedetto, who represents the Harris family. “We don’t have a crime scene investigator. The person wasn’t made available.”
He’s referring to former homicide detective Jennifer DiPonzio, who’s now part of a growing scandal involving mishandled evidence going back years.
DiPonzio went on medical leave and then retired after she was confronted with her mistakes.
The city has repeatedly told criminal and civil courts that health issues prevent her from testifying in any way.
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.
