OCDA: No Charges in Case of Man Who OD'd in Back of Orange PD Patrol Car
Updated: Aug 19, 2020
As Justin Harris strolled through a shopping plaza parking lot in Orange last summer, a policeman stopped him. Harris admitted to Sergeant Rafael Ward that he was on probation and gave permission to be patted down. That's when Ward noticed Harris was sweating profusely, had dilated pupils and was talking rapidly. Ward called for backup. Orange police officers Evan Smith and Jordan Uemura arrived and hauled Harris back to the station for being under the influence of a controlled substance shortly before midnight on July 14, 2016.
Harris never made it to a jail cell alive.
Read more on my latest OC Weekly Navel Gazing Blog post:
http://www.ocweekly.com/news/ocda-justin-harris-in-custody-death-ruled-accidental-8311762