Eric Harris, 22

New Orleans, Louisiana
February 08, 2016

Agencies: Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Louisiana

Cause of death: Not Yet Known

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Last updated: almost 6 years ago

Overview

22-year-old Eric Harris was shot to death Monday night (Feb. 8, 2016) by Jefferson Parish sheriff's deputies after a police chase from Oakwood Center shopping mall to Central City.

Deputies initially gave chase to Harris after confronting him at the mall in Jefferson Parish. Harris ran away from the officer who tried to speak with him after of group of people complained he pointed a gun them inside the mall, Sheriff Newell Normand said Monday. Harris then got in his car and sped across the Crecent City Connection, authorities said. He made it to Central City, where he crashed into a telephone poll at the intersection of Simon Bolivar and Philip Street. 

Deputies opened fire, Normand said, when the vehicle's reverse lights went on as deputies were positioned 20 yards behind the car. The sheriff said a gun was found inside the car. 

At least one eyewitness account contradicts the police account of the incident. According to a community organizer, Randolph Scott, “It is emphatically clear that police officers’ version is a fabrication.” Scott questioned whether the deputies’ statement that they feared for their lives is true. According to the deputies’ version of events, Harris threw his car in reverse and they feared they would be run over.

However, in a meeting with witnesses and Harris’ girlfriend, Tyshara Blouin, it was stated that the car was hit in the rear by the police vehicle causing the vehicle to hit the utility pole. After the car hit the utility pole, Mr. Harris asked his passenger, ‘Are you OK?’ She responded that she was OK and immediately the police started shooting, killing Mr. Harris. Blouin told Scott, “The police handcuffed his arms to the steering wheel knowing that he was dying or already dead.”

Legal Action

June 2016 New details on girlfriend's arrest following shooting