In a statement issued last week, Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd announced he has determined that the actions of law enforcement officers in shooting and killing a man wanted for murder were reasonable and justified under Missouri law.
Mekiah Harris, 26, of Kansas City, Kan., was fatally shot on May 3 near Platte City after he led police on a high-speed chase across the metro, eventually endangering motorists by driving the wrong way on Interstate 435.
Zahnd said troopers and officers on the scene gave Harris multiple opportunities to surrender, but he instead repeatedly pointed a gun at police.
“Any case involving a death is a tragedy,” he said. “That tragedy is compounded when the death is at the hands of law enforcement officers forced to protect their own lives and those of their fellow officers. This was an ending that no one wanted.”
Zahnd issued an 11-page report explaining his decision and cataloguing the evidence prosecutors reviewed before reaching it. Prosecutors reviewed 356 pages of documents, 15 videos, and 10 audio interviews, including footage from dash and body cameras, the armored police vehicle at the scene, and a police helicopter. The prosecutors also reviewed all post-shooting interviews and other documents before Zahnd made his determination regarding the shooting.
According to the report, Harris was wanted for a murder in Kansas City, Kan. when his vehicle was spotted near the Country Club Plaza. He fled police, evading stop sticks and eventually driving the wrong way at more than 100 miles per hour along I-435.
Harris eventually fled on foot from his vehicle near mile marker 30.6 of southbound I-435. He had a handgun, which investigation later revealed was not loaded. However, a loaded magazine fitting the weapon was found in Harris’ vehicle, and the report noted that, given the circumstances, law enforcement officers would not have been able to determine whether the handgun was loaded.
Harris ran to a residential neighborhood on Ridgeview Drive in the New Bedford Falls housing development. He was surrounded by law enforcement officers from multiple agencies.
During a 48-minute standoff, officers repeatedly directed Harris to put down his weapon and surrender, but Harris refused. Harris asked the officers to call his mother and to pray for him. At one point, officers described him holding a handgun up to his temple.
Harris also told officers how he wanted to be buried, requested that they tell his brother he was sorry, and gave officers a timeline until he would start shooting. Harris also asked if they were there because he “shot that guy.”
Footage from a police helicopter reveals that, at 10:45:06 p.m., Harris pointed his handgun in the direction of law enforcement officers. The officers still did not fire.
A few seconds later, at 10:45:43 p.m., Harris again aimed his weapon at a nearby officer. Multiple officers then fired at Mr. Harris, killing him.
“Sadly, multiple attempts by law enforcement officers to de-escalate this situation failed.,” Zahnd said. “However, Missouri law correctly authorizes law enforcement officers to use deadly force to protect themselves and others from being shot.”
Zahnd’s report ends by stating that the matter is considered closed and the prosecuting attorney’s office will not consider action of any kind against the law enforcement officers involved.
The shooting was investigated by the Platte County Sheriff’s Department. In addition to Zahnd, Assistant Prosecuting Attorneys Myles Perry and Mike Marta and First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Mark Gibson participated in the review and decision-making process related to the officers’ use of force.