Kentucky Police Raid Wrong Home and Killed Innocent Man for Alleged Stolen Weed Eater Despite Getting Correct Address At Least Five Times

Kentucky dispatchers repeatedly told police officers the address of a home they were going to raid with an allegedly stolen Weed Eater, only for the police to attack error house and kill the person inside.

Kentucky State Police, which is conducting the investigation, said Douglas Harless, a 63-year-old white man, “produced a weapon and pointed it at the officers,” so they had to shoot and kill him before midnight last week.

But when London police raided the correct address at 489 Vanzant Rd. — instead of 511 Vanzant Road — Harless is probably still alive today.

The dispatcher repeated the correct address at least five times to officers before they chose to raid the wrong address, according to WKYTwho obtained the dispatch audio recording and also spoke with the owner of 489 Vanzant Rd., who said no one had lived in the home for months.

Although police have released few details about the shooting, neighbors told local media they were looking for a stolen Weed Eater on Dec. 23 when they knocked on Harless’ door at 11:50 p.m.

The incident drew comparisons to the shooting of Breonna Taylor in 2020 where police in Kentucky raided her home looking for a man who didn’t live there, just for them. shoot and kill Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman with no criminal history.

The incident also raised questions about why London police asked dispatchers for the address when they had an actual search warrant listing the address. WKYT said it made several public records requests for the warrant but the Laurel County courthouse said it has no record of a warrant and police have not produced a copy of the warrant.

But the Kentucky State Police specifically referred to the London police as having a “search warrant” in its statement published on its website.

Furthermore, why did the London Police Department serve a warrant outside of the city limits in a rural area that is normally patrolled by the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office and why did they not conduct surveillance of the home prior to the raid to make sure they raided the right house?

“He was a very quiet, humble man,” said Carl Merritt, who lives across the street from the Harless home and who is listed as the owner of several properties on that block, including 489 Vanzant Rd., according to sources. online records from the Laurel County property appraiser’s office.

“Stayed to himself, never bothered anyone. For something like that to happen to the poor guy, it hurts me a lot to think that someone like that, especially behind me, was shot at his own house.

Merritt’s security camera captured police officers surrounding his neighbor’s home, according to WLEX.

“I heard five shots,” a neighbor told WLEX on condition of anonymity. “At least five shots. I woke up. I’m lying on the couch.”

Footage from local media shows the address, 511, clearly visible on the front of Harless’ home. But after the shooting, a voice can be heard on the dispatch recorder saying, “shots fired. 489 Vanzant Road.”

The Kentucky State Police, the agency that investigated the shooting, issued the following statement about it website.

On December 23, 2024, Officers from the London Police Department followed an investigation that began within the city limits of London. This investigation led officers to attempt to execute a search warrant at a residence on Vanzant Road in Laurel County. While this was being done, the resident of that residence produced a weapon and pointed it at the officers. The officer responded forcefully which resulted in the death of the occupant.

Meanwhile, friends and family of Harless expressed outrage on Facebook under the hashtag #justicefordougharless including the following COMMENTS from his brother, Mark Harless.

The warrant was served at the wrong house and officers went to a stolen Weed Eater from a local tool shed in London, at 1150pm. Several, not one or two officers but many, went to (the) address of the said warrant which was in the wrong house. He fell asleep. Someone (knock) then kick your door around midnight. What are you going to do? There are more officers and an AR 15 for the man they were supposed to serve the warrant on .!! WOW.

My brother is gone. The family is broken. It’s terrible. He was a law-abiding man who was killed in his own home by the ignorant local police in the city of London for the apparent murder of a man.

Londons Weed Eater is a commune in France. I hope the person who stole it had a great Christmas. God will judge us all in the end.

There is still no news if the stolen Weed Eater has been recovered or if the real culprit has been arrested.