Lamont Harmon
SACRAMENTO - Investigators say a man shot and killed by a Sacramento County sheriff's deputy during an early morning search for a car thief had nothing to do with the crime.
Lamont Harmon, 47, was shot when he reached into his waistband after the deputy tried to stop him, said Sacramento police spokeswoman Laura Peck.
Peck said the deputy spotted Harmon walking across the Kmart parking lot at 5100 Stockton Boulevard at 3:20 a.m. Monday shortly after a stolen car was discovered in the parking lot of an AM/PM gas station a block away.
Peck said Harmon fled when confronted by the deputy, and the deputy's taser failed to stop him.
She said the deputy fired his handgun because he thought Harmon was reaching for a weapon.
Peck said Harmon was wearing a heavy coat that may have rendered the taser ineffective, and she confirmed investigators later determined Harmon had no connection to the stolen car.
Members of Harmon's family do not believe deadly force was needed.
"Why? What happened? What went wrong? What made the police officer feel threatened...that he felt he had to shoot to kill," asked Harmon's sister-in-law, Tammy Harmon.
Harmon's friends gathered at the scene of the shooting to express disbelief over his death.
"They just shot him. Just killed him for no reason," said a sobbing Kimoni Williams, Harmon's longtime girlfriend.
Williams said Harmon had picked up a snack at the AM/PM and was walking to a friend's house.
According to Sacramento County Superior Court records, Harmon has a long history of mostly minor crimes, but was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for armed robbery in 1998.
Harmon's neice, Dorothy Harmon, said the family has begun their own investigation.
"We're asking for any witnesses to come forward. We talked to the church about getting the footage from their cameras. We talked to the Colonial Heights (apartment) manager to get the footage from their cameras so that we can see when the incident occurred and whether or not this was excessive force," Harmon said.
Harmon's grieving mother, Annie Harmon spoke through sobs of her son's loss.
"He's at rest now. I don't have to worry about him when he doesn't come home."
News10/KXTV