Tacoma police withdraw from Josh Harris shooting investigation at prosecutor’s request
The Tacoma Police Department will hand over the investigation of the May 30 shooting involving Republican Pierce County Council candidate Josh Harris after the county prosecutor raised concerns to the police chief about potential conflicts of interest.
Harris, 47, told The News Tribune he fired his gun in self-defense as Scott R. Stacy, 40, drove a stolen vehicle toward him at high speeds outside a homeless encampment near Tacoma’s Cheney Stadium on Monday. Witnesses reported hearing at least several shots and Stacy, who lives at the encampment, suffered gunshot wounds to the head and hand.
Prosecutors charged Stacy with assault Thursday on suspicion he drove the vehicle at Harris, but those charges were dismissed Friday due to Tacoma police handing off the case, according to a news release. Prosecutors will decide whether to refile charges against Stacy at the end of a new investigation.
The prosecutor’s office noted two potential conflicts of interest in the investigation: The Tacoma police union endorsed Harris in his Pierce County Council bid, and Harris has bought suites for union members at Rainiers games in the past.
Harris previously made headlines for paying $300,000 to bail out three Tacoma police officers involved in the death of Manuel Ellis. His brother is also a Tacoma police chaplain.
He told The News Tribune on Friday evening he thinks Tacoma police did the right thing by withdrawing from the investigation.
“I’m glad they’re taking it to another department so there’s clarity and transparency,” Harris said in a phone interview.
Harris said he agreed the police union endorsement was a conflict of interest but disputed that he’d purchased suites at Cheney Stadium for union members. He said he’s never personally invited anyone with ties to the union to a suite.
At the scene Monday, Harris said, he didn’t know any of the officers and thought they interacted with him in accordance with standard procedure.
A local hospital listed Stacy in stable condition as of Thursday evening, and jail records did not show he was booked into the Pierce County Jail. He still faces a second-degree burglary charge from a March arrest where he was released on his own recognizance.
Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett made the request to Tacoma police Chief Avery Moore to hand over the investigation on Friday, according to a news release. Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office detectives have agreed to take over the investigation.
Washington law holds that force used in self-defense must be reasonable and in response to a belief that someone is about to be attacked.
Harris and Stacy had at least two interactions prior to Monday’s shooting, according to Robin, who lives near Stacy at the Cheney Stadium encampment. She asked to withhold her last name because some people in her community do not know she is homeless.
Harris told officers he visited the homeless encampment where Stacy lived about a week earlier and located a number of stolen items. He returned Monday with three other people to recover the property and said a woman living in the wooded area told him that Stacy threatened his family. That’s when Harris reported the incident to law enforcement.
Harris told The News Tribune on Friday he’d never met or talked to Stacy before and only heard of his reputation. He also said he didn’t know who was driving the car toward him when he opened fire.
“Nobody went there to confront anybody,” said Harris, disputing accusations he was acting as a vigilante Monday. “People need to quit throwing words around they don’t know the meaning of.”
Harris said he stood by his decision to fire at Stacy’s vehicle and said Tacoma police officers were nearly run over.
“They had every right to shoot him, too, and that just shows the restraint they’re using,” Harris said.
Robin said she was sure Stacy was not trying to injure anyone with the vehicle he was driving and was only attempting to flee the area. She said Stacy was upset that Harris had taken items from the encampment that weren’t stolen and told her, “I’m tired of this guy messing with me.”
Harris is running on a law-and-order platform but has a criminal record of his own. He regained the right to own a firearm in 2013 following a felony theft conviction in 2003 stemming from altered checks for maintenance work he performed.
Harris filed in May to run as a Republican for the Pierce County Council District 7 seat representing Gig Harbor and Key Peninsulas, Fox Island, and parts of north and west Tacoma.
This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 4:39 PM.
