Douglas Harless, a 63-year-old man from Laurel County, Kentucky, was fatally shot in his home by London police officers executing what they claimed was a search warrant. The raid, intended to investigate a stolen Weed Eater, targeted the wrong address despite dispatchers repeatedly providing the correct location. Neighbors and family members have since raised serious questions about the officers’ actions and the systemic failures that led to the tragedy.
Neighbors recall a quiet December night shattered by the sounds of officers banging on Harless’s door just before midnight, followed by gunfire. A local resident, Carl Merritt, whose security camera captured parts of the incident, described Harless as a reserved, law-abiding man. “For something like that to happen to that poor man, it hurts me to think someone like him, in his own home, could face such a fate,” Merritt said. Harless allegedly armed himself in response to the intrusion, an act his family argues was instinctive given the late hour and chaotic circumstances.
The raid occurred at 511 Vanzant Road, a home visibly marked with that address, yet officers stated they were serving a warrant for 489 Vanzant Road, a nearby property that had been vacant for months. Audio recordings obtained by WKYT reveal dispatchers had reiterated the correct address at least five times. However, after the shooting, an officer can be heard mistakenly reporting “shots fired at 489 Vanzant Road,” further compounding the confusion.
The fatal mistake has drawn comparisons to the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor, another Kentucky resident whose death during a botched raid led to widespread protests and calls for police reform. The lack of clarity about the warrant itself—its absence from courthouse records despite police assertions it existed—has amplified calls for accountability. Critics also question why London police officers, operating outside their usual jurisdiction, failed to verify their target beforehand.
Harless’s family is devastated and demanding answers. “He was asleep, and they kicked in his door around midnight,” his brother Mark Harless wrote in a social media post. “What would you do if someone did that to you? My brother is gone. The family is broken. This is terrible.” The hashtag #justicefordougharless is now circulating online as advocates press for transparency in the investigation, led by the Kentucky State Police, into the actions of the London Police Department.
Recent Comments