Kentucky sheriff told deputy to shoot man, then 'staged' shooting scene, lawsuit says

BY MIKE STUNSON AND BILL ESTEP
May 10, 2018 07:11 PM
Updated May 11, 2018 11:35 AM

BOONEVILLE

A Kentucky sheriff told his deputy to shoot a man without provocation, then did not provide first aid or call an ambulance as the man bled to death on the floor of his apartment, according to a federal wrongful death lawsuit filed by the man's children and estate.

The lawsuit also alleges that Owsley County Sheriff Kelly Shouse had been having an affair with the girlfriend of the man who was shot, Charles Harris.

The lawsuit was filed after a grand jury declined to indict the Owsley deputy, Michael Havicus, in the March 2017 death of Harris, 42. That deputy was sued previously for using excessive force in another case and settled.

Kentucky State Police said Harris was armed with a knife, but the children, both in their teens, and apartment building manager were there and say in the lawsuit that he never opened the pocket knife he allegedly had in his hands. The apartment, the family says in the suit, was rearranged and "staged" after Harris was shot to influence the subsequent investigation.

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