The suspected thief sped in a vehicle past the officers toward where Harris was waiting. Officers instructed Harris to wait at a distance while they contacted people in the camp to investigate. Harris called police just before 4:50 p.m. He found the stolen car at the encampment, where a man allegedly confronted Harris and threatened to kill him. Harris visited a homeless encampment near Cheney Stadium Monday afternoon seeking to recover stolen property, according to Tacoma police and the prosecutor’s office. He did not respond to messages Wednesday seeking comment. Harris, who filed as a Republican to run for the open Pierce County Council seat representing Gig Harbor and parts of Tacoma, told The Times in a recent interview that he has spent a great deal of time talking with residents of homeless encampments in Pierce County to better understand the crisis, and invited a reporter to accompany him. “I’m not embarrassed of it,” he said in an interview last week.įollowing both convictions, Harris was allowed to serve his sentences as in-home detention in lieu of incarceration.
Last week, The Seattle Times reported that Harris, the 47-year-old owner of Tacoma-based Integrity Construction, had several theft convictions, including one felony count for altering checks from a client in the amount of $24,000, which he said he was owed because he felt underpaid.
INTEGRITY PIERCING TRIAL
Troyer faces trial in July on a misdemeanor charge of false reporting he has pleaded not guilty. Harris came forward to report that he, too, had confronted the newspaper carrier and drew his concealed handgun during a tense conversation. Harris’ history of pro-law enforcement actions include intervening in a Pierce County investigation into allegations that Sheriff Ed Troyer falsely reported that a Black newspaper carrier had threatened him in January 2021. He was detained and hospitalized, and is expected to be booked in jail in Pierce County upon his release. It’s not clear from police accounts whether the suspect was wounded by Harris’ gunfire or in the course of fleeing.
Neither police nor prosecutors named the 40-year-old man suspected of auto theft who was wounded in the incident. The Pierce County prosecutor’s office, however, named Harris as the armed citizen. The incident ended dramatically, with a suspected car thief allegedly trying to get away by driving toward Harris, and Harris firing a handgun at the car and its fleeing driver.Ī Tacoma Police Department news release about the incident described Harris only as “an armed citizen,” because department policy prohibits naming victims, according to spokesperson Wendy Haddow. On Monday, Harris set out in search of what he described as a stolen vehicle at a homeless encampment, where he soon summoned police. Harris’ brother also served as the department’s chaplain.
Harris last year posted a $300,000 bail bond for three Tacoma officers charged with killing Manny Ellis, whose suffocation death sparked widespread protests in 2020. Harris was not arrested, and despite his personal relationship with the Tacoma Police Department, it remains the investigating agency. The Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said it will investigate the incident to determine whether Josh Harris will face criminal charges, or whether his gunfire was justified in self-defense. Editor’s note: This story was produced in partnership with The Seattle Times.Ī Pierce County Council candidate who is running on a pro-law enforcement platform fired multiple rounds from a handgun at an auto-theft suspect Monday near a homeless encampment with police officers within earshot, according to Tacoma police and the Pierce County prosecutor’s office.
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