Pierce Council Candidate Opens Fire on Suspected Car Thief: Reports

GIG HARBOR, WA — Tacoma Police and the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office are investigating after a Pierce County Council candidate opened fire at another man Monday near a homeless encampment, according to several reports.

Josh Harris is one of five candidates who have filed to replace Derek Young on the Pierce County Council. Young's district covers Gig Harbor, the Key Peninsulas, and parts of Tacoma.

Now, the new candidate has been implicated in a Monday night shooting.

Harris has not been arrested or charged, The News Tribune reported, for an incident that began with him trying to track down someone else's stolen car. According to the Tribune's reporting, Harris claims he tracked the car to a homeless encampment near Cheney Stadium in Tacoma, where he called police. He then got into some sort of confrontation with a man he believed was the thief.

“A person I am helping to get back on her feet informed us that the car thief had told her he knew where I lived and was going to kill me and board my doors and windows and burn my family to death,” Harris told The News Tribune.

From there, the situation escalated, The Seattle Times reports, with the accused car thief allegedly trying to escape by driving the car towards Harris, and Harris retaliating by firing several shots from his handgun at the car. The 40-year-old driver was injured and hospitalized, though it is unclear if he was hurt by the gunfire or injured in the process of fleeing.

When released, the man will be arrested for possession of stolen vehicles and assault, the Tacoma Police Department said.

Harris, meanwhile, will also be investigated for his involvement. As The Seattle Times notes, Harris has close ties with the Tacoma Police Department: Last year, he personally posted a $300,000 bail bond to free the three Tacoma Police officers charged with killing Manuel Ellis. Despite that, Tacoma PD remain the chief investigating agency, the Times reported, though the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will also investigate to determine whether Harris will face criminal charges.

Before the shooting, Harris was already a controversial candidate, running on a law and order platform despite having several theft convictions himself, including one felony count for altering checks from a client. In that incident, the Seattle Times reports, Harris illegally increased the amount of money he earned for a job by over $24,000.

“I openly admitted I took the checks to pay myself back,” Harris told the Times. “I’m not embarrassed of it. I did no jail time. I did no prison time.”

Harris was sentenced to 30 days in jail for that incident, but served it as in-home detention.