KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A jury was unable to reach a verdict and has declared a mistrial in the trial of an ex-Leavenworth Police Department officer fired for a deadly 2017 shooting.
Matthew Harrington was charged with involuntary manslaughter in 2018 by Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson for the death of Antonio Garcia, 47.
"We believe the jury made a reasonable and fair effort to render that decision but could not reach a unanimous verdict which is required," Leavenworth Police Chief Patrick Kitchens said in a release sent Wednesday.
Kitchens said that body-worn camera footage of the officer involved shooting will be made available for review "some point soon."
President of the Leavenworth NAACP, Joana Sholtz, was in the courtroom audience as a community witness. She says she watched the body cam footage during the trial and felt Harrington could have resorted to other de-escalating measures.
"I think it definitely says that this is a case where qualified immunity does not apply. And when you get to this state with a policeman, there are plenty of people who have decided that this is not qualified immunity," Scholtz said. "I ask myself would Mr. Harrington have been so quick to fire his gun if the person had not been a person of color? Not saying that was the case, but it just begs the question."
Scholtz along with family of Antonio Garcia were also concerned about the all-White jury.
"There are no people of color on the jury. People tend to see themselves in people who look like them, so I wonder if it doesn’t give a level of compassion towards Mr. Harrington cause people see themselves like him," Scholtz said.
Harrington responded to 1708 Rose Street on the report of a stolen car on July 11, 2017.
Police determined there was an argument over the possession of a family vehicle, which led to a domestic dispute.
Garcia was involved in the dispute and had left before Harrington arrived. But shortly after, Garcia returned.
In a January 2018 news release from Leavenworth Police Chief Patrick Kitchens, Garcia was said to have had an encounter in the driveway of the residence while inside his SUV.
At one point during the encounter, Harrington fired his duty weapon. A bullet struck and fatally wounded Garcia.
In the following investigation into Harrington’s use of deadly force, which concluded Jan. 19, 2018, he was found to have violated the department's policy.
Harrington was terminated from the Leavenworth Police Department on Jan. 26, 2018.
"The investigation was concluded and I elected to terminate Officer Harrington citing that his use of lethal force was not reasonable," Kitchens said.
The Leavenworth Police Department then asked the Kansas Bureau of Investigation to conduct independent investigation into the case. Following the investigation, a Grand Jury issued an indictment against Harrington for manslaughter.
A status hearing has been set by the judge for May 4, 2022, at 3:30 p.m.
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