Ex-Kansas police officer to face new manslaughter trial
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) - A former Kansas police officer accused of shooting a man to death five years ago while on duty will face a new trial next month after his first trial ended in mistrial.
Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson said Wednesday that Matthew Harrington's new trial on an involuntary manslaughter charge will begin June 6, the Kansas City Star reported.
Last month, a mistrial was declared in Harrington's first trial after a jury in Leavenworth could not reach a unanimous verdict. Harrington is charged in the July 2017 shooting of 47-year-old Antonio Garcia Jr. as Garcia sat inside a vehicle in Leavenworth.
The shooting occurred when Harrington responded to a domestic dispute at a Leavenworth home, police said. Garcia left, but later returned and was sitting in his vehicle when Harrington approached.
Prosecutors said Garcia had a knife but didn't threaten Harrington, who fired several times into the vehicle after the two men struggled, according to video from Harrington's body camera.
Harrington was fired in 2018 after a police department investigation found he violated policies on use of deadly force.
Harrington was indicted later that year, and a Leavenworth County judge ruled in 2020 that Harrington could not claim legal immunity, sending the case to trial.
In 2019, the city of Leavenworth reached a $1 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Garcia's family.