LONDON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Friends and co-workers say the day before Doug Harless was shot and killed in his home on December 23 of last year, he was at Cedar Lane Apartments in London spreading holiday cheer.
"He was always happy, never sad," said Sarah Gilkey, a tenant at the complex
This year, they're preparing a special monument to dedicate in his honor Tuesday, December 23 at 1pm at Cedar Lane Apartments on Spring Street in London.
Harless was a maintenance man for 20 years and most recently worked for Winterwood, Inc., a company that manages many affordable housing and apartment complexes around London. Around every Christmas, the company would give gifts and the maintenance crew would deliver them to tenants like Gilkey. She remembers the last time she saw Harless like it was yesterday.
"He said, well I'm going to be out on vacation for two weeks - take a Christmas vacation and I'm going to have a good time with my family and my grandson," Gilkey said.
But just over 24 hours later, a neighbor's security video captured four London police officers with guns in hand approaching Harless' home right before midnight. They were acting on a search warrant for a stolen weed eater, but Harless' home was the wrong address for the warrant.
According to an affidavit for the warrant, officers knocked on the front door, announcing themselves. It went on to say officers made entry through the front door and found Harless with a gun. That's when an officer fired multiple rounds, killing Harless.
Nearly a year after that fateful night, attorneys for Harless' family say they have yet to see the warrant, the ballistics report and the final autopsy report.
On Tuesday, LEX 18 Investigates looks back on the case, its impact on the community, and what Justice for Doug Harless means to those who knew him.
