Ohio Fugitive Killed by Florida Officer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --
The 29-year-old man shot and killed by an undercover narcotics officer at a northwest Jacksonville apartment complex Thursday afternoon was a fugitive from Ohio, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office announced Friday morning.
The shooting occurred about 5:20 p.m. after officers serving an arrest warrant forced their way into unit 167 of Cleveland Arms Apartments, where they believed Herbert Harris was staying.
Police said officers encountered Harris in the hallway. When he pulled a 9 mm handgun, an officer fired five shots, hitting Harris twice, the Sheriff's Office said.
He died at the scene.
"You hate when these things turn out this way, but it happens" Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Chief John Harley said. "This is a dangerous business."
Police said Harris was wanted for violation of probation on a felony assault charge in Ohio and had a lengthy criminal history.
Two other occupants of the apartment -- Stephen Burnen, 29, and Tenant Danielle Sampson, 27 -- were questioned but not charged.
Police said Sampson, who lives in the unit, admitted that Harris was selling cocaine and marijuana out of her apartment. Officers reported finding a small amount of marijuana and some drug paraphernalia in the unit.
Because the police officer who fired the shots is undercover, his name was not released. He will remain on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, which is standard procedure.
This was the third police-involved shooting in Jacksonville in the past five weeks.
Pamela Shaw said she was startled by the shooting and particularly concerned because the complex was so busy at the time with a lot of children playing.
"I'm just concerned because my daughter was out here playing, and other kids," Shaw said. "They just went to shooting and didn't care if any people was out here."
Police said the only person hit by gunfire was the person they were there to arrest.
"Certainly armed drug dealers in an apartment complex like that is a danger to the community," Hartley said.
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