It began like any other Saturday for Katie Harris.
The 25-year-old and her younger sister, Maddie, had lunch together Oct. 14 and then parted ways to grocery shop “because Maddie doesn’t like the way Katie grocery shops,” their mother, Katrina Harris, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution with a chuckle.
As it turned out, they ended up at the same grocery store. They met in the parking lot, but before heading home, they “hurled insults at each other because they love each other and that’s what they do,” their mother said.
But by 2 p.m., Katie Harris was just 10 minutes from home when a speeding suspect, who was allegedly fleeing from the Georgia State Patrol, rammed into her Honda Civic at the intersection of Memorial Drive and North Hairston Road in DeKalb County. Harris died at the scene.
In that instant, their routine errand runs ended, and that loving exchange of insults would be the last words the sisters shared.
Now, Maddie Harris finds herself wanting to just share the events of her life, and having no one to share them with.
“I keep seeing things that are happening, like funny things that are happening ... and I want to text her and be like, ‘Look at this thing that someone made of you!’ and I’m like, I can’t,” Maddie said.
Aside from their grocery shopping habits, the sisters were nearly inseparable. They had recently moved into a house together with a friend to embark on their journey through young adulthood.
Credit: Family contributed photo
Credit: Family contributed photo
“They had inside jokes, and they were so close, and it just breaks my heart that her other half is gone,” Katrina Harris said.
Maddie has been staying with her parents because it’s difficult to be at home, she said, where her sister had been a near-constant presence. She worked from home, so she was always around.
Credit: Family contributed photo
Credit: Family contributed photo
“I’m just so used to being at my job and looking at my phone and seeing a picture of her holding my cat and being like, ‘She misses you!’” the 22-year-old said. “It’s just so empty without her.”
The man charged in Katie’s death, Arin Jamal Taylor, 25, is accused of running two red lights while trying to evade a traffic stop for allegedly speeding without a tag, the GSP said. His Infiniti SUV was disabled after the crash, and authorities said he was quickly arrested after running behind a nearby gas station. He faces several charges, including first-degree homicide by vehicle and driving under the influence.
It was the latest example of a law enforcement pursuit ending in death. In fact, more people die during pursuits in Georgia than in most other states, even accounting for differences in population, according to an independent analysis of traffic death data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration by the AJC.
For decades, law enforcement experts have called on agencies to tighten their pursuit policies. Engaging in one may not always be worth the risks of endangering officers and the public, particularly when there are other means of apprehending a suspect — especially when in more than 90% of cases, the initial reason for a stop is a minor traffic violation, according to scholars.
Some local agencies, such as Atlanta police, modified their policies to prohibit officers from engaging in pursuits unless they have “direct knowledge” that the suspect has engaged in a violent felony. Still, about 31% of Georgia departments have permissive policies that allow officers broad discretion to conduct chases, according to a recent report by the state’s Association of Chiefs of Police.
While the GSP was not included in that study, its pursuit policy leaves the decision to engage in a pursuit up to a trooper’s discretion, spokesperson Capt. Michael Burns told the AJC this year.
“Our department members are expected to make a reasonable effort to apprehend violators that flee or try to elude,” Burns said. “But they also have to take into consideration the reason for the stop, roadway traffic conditions. They must exercise sound judgment for their actions.”
After each GSP chase, a pursuit critique is conducted, but an internal investigation is not always opened. In the chase that left Katie Harris dead, an internal investigation will not be performed, Burns said.
Credit: Family contributed photo
Credit: Family contributed photo
Katrina and Maddie Harris said they will miss Katie’s kind-hearted nature and her ability to always know the right thing to say to bring light to a room. They described her as “unapologetically strange” and an “extroverted introvert.” They also teasingly noted her awful taste in music.
It’s a void that will never be filled.
“I still can’t believe it’s real ... I don’t think any of us slept,” said Katrina Harris, through tears, about their first night without her daughter. “Our hearts were just — I still feel like my heart’s in my throat.”
— Staff writer Asia Simone Burns contributed to this article.
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