No charge will be filed against deputy in Edmonds man’s injury

Published 4:37 pm Friday, July 31, 2009

SEATTLE — King County prosecutors have decided not to file criminal charges against a sheriff’s deputy who injured a man after a foot chase in May.

Prosecutor’s spokesman Dan Donohoe says it was a tragic incident and told The Seattle Times today that there is no legal basis for a criminal charge against the deputy.

A witness had incorrectly identified 29-year-old Christopher Harris of Edmonds to deputies as a suspect in a bar brawl.

Sheriff’s spokesman John Urquhart said Harris fled when deputies approached him. The deputies chased him and when he slowed down, deputy Matthew Paul slammed him into a concrete wall.

An investigation by the sheriff’s office found that Paul gave Harris a “hard shove” that fell within legal boundaries.