20 March 16th–March 22nd, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | music | cafe | film | culTuRe | NighT+Day | feaTuRe | NeWs | OPiNiON | feeDBacK | cONTeNTs | mon-THU: 9AM - 7PM fri: 9AM - 7PM sat: 9AM - 6PM sun: 10AM - 5PM 3330 w Van Buren St • Phoenix • 602-272-0034 (NE Corner of 35th Ave & Van Buren) *prices are subject Bunk-Bed-Frame 2pc sectional Box and mattress with mattress CHESTs Starting from 4pc bedroom set 5 drawer chest $309 $529 WESTSIDEFURNITURE.com VALLEY-WIDE DELIVERY AVAILAbLE CALL foR pRICIng T-$119 F-$139 Q-$169 K- $289 $639 Choice of fabrics Twin Mattress w/ 6” Foam $7995 $439 $139 $139 made it sound like Jacob’s friends had killed him. “I lost it,” Harris said. “He was like, ‘Rest assured and find solace that they’re gonna pay for his murder.’” A short time later, a different detective told Harris that his son had been involved in armed robberies, and said he was shot after pointing a gun at police officers. “I told him he was a liar, you guys murdered my son,” Harris said. Greene was in physical therapy that morning when she got a call from a friend telling her that someone had broken into her home and that her door was wide open. “I called the police,” she recounted. “The Glendale police came out, said Phoenix police had raided my house. I said why didn’t they just knock on the door? They really had to break the door in? All they had to do was ask for the keys from management, they had a warrant. They completely ransacked my whole house. They turned off all of my surveillance cameras. I felt so violated and angry.” When police showed up to search Reed’s grandmother’s home, Reed had already been in custody for hours. Officers made no attempt to obtain consent before conducting a raid, according to Chambers. With her terminally ill mother still inside and in a wheelchair, officers threw a smoke bomb into the home, tore the door off, and pillaged the house, Chambers said. “My mom died a few months later,” Chambers said. “Johnny was her favorite. She couldn’t last any longer.” ‘I Wasn’t Able to Protect Him’ With Reed, Triplett, and Busani already facing the possibility of decades in prison for Harris’s murder, prosecutors leveraged the robbery indictment to extract a plea. “We were all backed into a corner,” Chambers said. “Do we take 15 years or do we take life? The prosecutors said this is the only plea deal we’re going to give you. If you go to trial with this you’re going to get life.” In the end, all three pleaded guilty, rather than risk life in prison. Busani was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison, Reed to 15 years, and Triplett to 30 years. Triplett’s long incarceration is especially risky because he has a serious brain condi- tion that will most likely require future surgeries — and prison healthcare in Arizona is notoriously bad. Triplett has had at least six brain surgeries to treat hydrocephalus — a buildup of cerebrospinal fluids that exerts pressure on the brain, which can cause brain damage, vomiting, changes in personality, and severe headaches. Triplett had a shunt implanted in his brain to drain the excess fluid when he was a baby, Greene said. The shunt runs down his body and drains into his stomach, where the cerebrospinal fluid is absorbed. “He has really bad migraines,” Greene said, adding that she has tried to get her son medical help in prison but has been unable to. “It was to the point where he’d be vomiting, he can’t eat, can’t be around light or sound.” While Triplett, Reed, and Busani were being prosecuted for Harris’s death, his father advocated on their behalf. “We all lost our children,” Chambers said. “But Roland will never see his son again. He pleaded for each and every one of them for the judge to give them leniency.” Harris attended “every single one of Sariah’s court dates,” said Christina Gonzales, Busani’s mother, calling him “a godsend.” Harris believes the officer who killed his son should have been prosecuted — not Reed, Triplett, and Busani. Bertz, 37, is still working for Phoenix police collecting about $90,000 a year from taxpayers. Norman, 50, has retired, but he still draws more than $5,000 each month from his pension from the city and now runs a law enforcement training company called TruKinetics. He is also a contractor with the Department of Defense, according to his deposition. “They’re sitting there, going on with their lives, opening up businesses,” Harris said. “They don’t think about the wreckage that they left behind. Father’s Days are never the same. I don’t even celebrate it. It hurts so much.” Roland Harris at a memorial to victims of police violence in Phoenix. Poder in Action Jacob from p 19 >> p 23
