Harvey Price, 34

Cincinnati, Ohio
February 01, 1995

Agencies: Cincinnati Police Department Ohio

Cause of death: Shooting


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Last updated: almost 6 years ago

Overview

Harvey Price killed 15-year-old Tesha Beasley with an axe and kept police at bay for four hours before he was shot by a SWAT team officer on Feb. 1, 1995.

        Mr. Price, 34, struck Ms. Beasley — his girlfriend's daughter — multiple times before dragging her body to the basement of her North Avondale apartment.

        A neighbor discovered blood in a hallway and called the landlord. Police found Ms. Beasley's body, but no one inside the apartment.

        With police still inside, Mr. Price sneaked back into the apartment just after midnight by crawling through a kitchen window. Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Carl Parrott, part of a team searching the apartment for evidence, opened a bathroom door and found Mr. Price inside with a steak knife.

        Mr. Price was sprayed with a chemical irritant and shocked twice with a stun gun, but refused to drop his weapon. Police say he became increasingly suicidal as the hours wore on.

        At 4:27 a.m., four SWAT team members entered the bathroom with shields raised and sprayed Mr. Price with another round of irritant. Mr. Price began advancing on the officers, the knife raised over his head, police said.

        Sgt. Randy Rengering shot Mr. Price five times. He was exonerated after an internal investigation.

        Dorothy Anderson, Tesha's aunt, said she doesn't think police needed to shoot Mr. Price that morning. He should have lived a long life behind bars, she said.

        “This comes after years of reflection, but even he deserved a day in court,” Ms. Anderson, of Madisonville, said. “We may not like what some people do, but they're still human beings.

        “It just seems like when white men commit a crime, they still end up with their day in court. All 15 of those men killed by police were black, and that's the problem that has caused all of this.”