Police Chief Jimmie Dotson announced Friday that there was insufficient evidence to warrant criminal prosecution in the death of Torris Harris. Mr. Harris died on December 26, 2001, while resisting arrest by Chattanooga police officers.
Joined by District Attorney Bill Cox, Assistant Hamilton County Medical Examiner Dr. Stan Kessler, and the investigating officers, Chief Dotson said the original ruling of "homicide" was accurate, but only in the medical sense of the word.
"In the medical sense, homicide is death caused by another person. Legally, it implies some criminal intent. There was no criminal intent, no negligence and no Chattanooga Police Department policy violation," he said.
On Jan. 24, Dr. Kessler officially ruled Torris Harris' manner of death as a homicide. The cause of death was determined to be blunt neck compression with obesity as a contributing factor. On Friday, Dr. Kessler said that Harris' heart also showed signs of enlargement and hardening of the arteries. Other factors contributing to his death were said to be the physical exertion of struggling with the officers, and being sprayed with mace.
Four separate investigations were conducted on the death of Torris Harris. The Chattanooga Police Department's Homicide Division, Internal Affairs Division, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation all looked into the matter.
The investigative report stated that on the night of December 26, 2001, CPD officer Justin McCommon conducted an "investigative stop" on Torris Harris' gold Jeep Cherokee to determine whether the vehicle was stolen. Mr. Harris' high beams were on, and the driver's side vent window was covered with plastic - both indicators of a potentially stolen vehicle.
After observing several inconsistencies in Mr. Harris' story, Officer McCommon requested his driver's license and attempted to handcuff Harris while he tried to "figure out what was going on."
Before the officer could get the handcuffs on him, Harris took off on foot away from Officer McCommon and his vehicle. At this point, Officer McCommon radioed that he had a party running, and police units were dispatched to assist him.
After a short chase in which Harris fell, but eventually made it back to his Jeep, Officer McCommon sprayed Harris with Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) mace. Harris then put the car in reverse with the driver's side door open, and began dragging Officer McCommon alongside the vehicle.
The report stated that with the assistance of a concerned citizen, Officer McCommon was able to remove Harris from the Jeep and onto the sidewalk, face down. The citizen, Charles R. Kinsey, had Harris in a chokehold, but he continued to struggle. The officer sprayed mace for the second time, but maced himself in the process.
Within minutes, four other officers arrived on scene and removed Mr. Kinsey and Officer McCommon (due to his incapacitated status) from the struggle.
During the ensuing struggle, Harris rolled over and an officer punched him on the nose. With attempts still being made to restrain him, Harris bit another officer's hand. One of the officer's delivered several blows to the back of Harris' head. He stopped struggling, and was handcuffed.
An ambulance was called, but Harris was unresponsive. The officers un-handcuffed him and checked for vital signs. Attempts were made to revive Mr. Harris, but to no avail.
He was pronounced dead 40 minutes later at Erlanger Hospital.
Case investigator Sgt. Tim Carroll concluded in the report, "This investigation revealed that Torris D. Harris died as a result of a violent and aggressive struggle with five Chattanooga Police Officers and one civilian who were attempting to subdue him by means of non-lethal force. Unfortunately, the force used was sufficient to cause death. Although the death of a person occurred ultimately at the hands of police, I find no criminal intentions existed that the police officers or the civilian planned or intended to cause the death of Torris D. Harris on December 26, 2001."