LEAVENWORTH — A former Leavenworth police officer who fatally shot a man in a vehicle in 2017 cannot claim legal immunity, a ruling that leaves it jurors to decide whether his actions were justified as self defense.
Leavenworth County Judge Michael Gibbens found that the force used by Matthew Harrington was not statutorily justified as self defense, clearing the way for the involuntary manslaughter case to proceed.
Harrington was indicted in August 2018 for the death of Antonio Garcia Jr., who was shot multiple times while sitting the in the driver’s seat of an SUV. Harrington was fired for violating policy.
