‘He’s Reaching In His Pocket’: Lawsuit Accuses Indiana Cops and Prosecutor’s Office of Lying About Black Man Holding Gun to Justify Killing Him. Video Shows He Had a Phone
Police body camera footage clearly shows La’Taurus Harrison holding a phone in his hand during the moments before an Indiana sheriff’s deputy fired 10 rounds at him last year, killing the 44-year-old Black man, claiming he had a gun in his hand.
But the gun is not visible in the two body camera videos released by the Madison County Sheriff’s Department last year.
Nevertheless, the Madison County Prosecutor’s Office cleared the deputy of all wrongdoing, stating in its press release that Harrison “drew a handgun from his pocket, and raised that handgun toward deputies” – without presenting visual evidence to back that claim.
Last month, Harrison’s mother filed a lawsuit (obtained by Atlanta Black Star) against the deputies involved in the shooting, including Mason Brizendine, the only deputy to have opened fire, accusing them of lying to protect Brizendine about what had taken place that day.
The other two deputies listed as defendants in the lawsuit are Grant Stephens and Chris Burkhardt. Also listed as a defendant is Madison County, which would encompass both the sheriff’s department and the prosecutor’s office.
The videos show that Brizendine was standing the furthest away from the car when he opened fire, raising the question as to why the other deputies who were closer did not see a gun and open fire themselves.
The videos also show the deputies yelling contradictory orders, with one ordering him to place his “hands on the wheel” and another ordering him to “unlock the door” and another telling him to “get out the car.”
And none of the deputies ever yelled out “gun!” as they are trained to do when spotting a gun in a suspect’s hand.
Instead, Brizendine yelled out, “he’s reaching in his pocket, get your hands out of your pocket!” before opening fire 10 times, striking Harrison seven times. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Harrison’s 82-year-old mother, Ruby Foard, witnessed the shooting and could be heard wailing in the background.
Watch the video below.
‘Gun Was a Lie’
The incident took place on June 1, 2024, after Madison County sheriff’s deputies tracked Harrison down to his mother’s home using a GPS monitoring device, accusing him of violating probation because he was confined to home detention in Indianapolis, which was about 45 minutes away from his mother’s home in Marion County.
Body camera videos show them arriving at his mother’s home and finding him sitting inside his car parked on the side of the house with a phone in his hand, then yelling their contradictory orders, which is a common occurrence in these situations.
“Put your hands on the wheel, put the phone down,” Deputy Stephens yelled.
“Unlock the car,” Brizendine yelled.
“You have a warrant, you’re going to jail, get out of the car,” Burkhardt yelled.
“I’m going to get out, I’m calling my girl,” Harrison responded.
“No, you can call her when you get out,” Stephens responded, trying to open the door to his car which was locked.
Seconds later, Burkhardt began shattering the driver’s side window with a baton, which was followed by Brizendine opening fire.
The Madison County Sheriff’s Department told local media that they applied for a search warrant to search his car and found “a handgun loaded with five rounds of ammunition, as well as a box of additional ammunition and a large knife,” but it is not clear where exactly in the car were the weapons found.
Ten days after the shooting, the Madison County Prosecutor’s Office announced it would not be filing criminal charges against the deputies, stating the following on its Facebook page.
Deputies gave twenty-six (26) loud, verbal commands for Harrison to show his hands, not to reach for his pocket, to unlock the vehicle, and to exit the vehicle. Harrison disobeyed these lawful commands, refused to exit the vehicle, drew a handgun from his pocket, and raised that handgun toward deputies.
Under any reasonable application of the law to these facts, law enforcement was justified in using deadly force as self-defense and the defense of others. Deputy Brizendine’s actions that day likely saved his life and/or the lives of Sgt. Burkhardt and Deputy Stephens. Therefore, no criminal charges are warranted for the use of deadly force.
The federal lawsuit filed on May 31 by Indiana attorney David B. Owens states that it was impossible for Brizendine to have seen a gun in Harrison’s hand from where he had been standing, accusing the other deputies of covering up for him.
Defendant Officers falsely claimed that Brizendine saw La’taurus Harrison pull out, and raise, a gun from his pocket.
Yet they knew this was impossible given Defendant Brizendine’s vantage point.
Defendant Officer’s claim that Defendant Brizendine saw La’taurus Harrison pull out a gun was a lie that Defendant Officers, in conspiracy with other officers, came up with after-the-fact to attempt to justify this unlawful shooting.
Defendant Officer’s accounts to authorities investigating the shooting incident are at odds with, and contradicted by, the truth of what actually occurred.
The lawsuit accuses the deputies of using excessive deadly force, unlawful seizure, unlawful entry, assault and battery, wrongful death, negligent infliction of emotional distress, trespassing on his mother’s property without a warrant or notifying her, failure to intervene for going along with the unconstitutional practices without intervening and conspiracy to deprive Harrison of his constitutional rights.
The lawsuit states that Harrison was a loving father of a 13-year-old girl as well as a loving son to his elderly mother, with whom he was very close.
“Her upbringing will now be forever altered by the difficulties that she and her caretakers will face as a result of her father’s death,” the claim states in reference to his daughter.
“Ruby Foard, La’taurus’s mother, has experienced monumental loss as well. Ms. Foard has been harmed by the actions during the shooting, as she watched Defendant Brizendine take the life of her son in the driveway of her home.”