NCSU assistant coach charged
Officer used pepper spray to subdue Harris
Published: Thu, Apr. 05, 2007 08:00AM
Modified Thu, Apr. 05, 2007 05:47PM
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closeRALEIGH -- A Raleigh police officer used pepper spray on Larry Harris, an assistant men’s basketball coach at N.C. State University, after he refused to cooperate last night when the officer stopped him for speeding, a police spokesman said.
Harris filed a complaint against the officer today, a day after being arrested on a misdemeanor charge of resisting an officer and speeding, the coach's lawyer said.
Lee Turner, an attorney representing Harris, said the complaint accused Officer R.W. King of assault, excessive force and conduct unbecoming an officer. The complaint was filed with the Raleigh Police Department, Turner said.
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The police officer used the pepper spray to force Harris to comply with his arrest order, police spokesman Jim Sughrue said this morning.
“For a period of time, he refused to comply with the arresting officer’s instructions,” Sughrue said.
King stopped Harris shortly after 10 p.m. in the 800 block of West Morgan Street near downtown. The assistant coach was going 41 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone in his 2006 Cadlillac Escalade, Sughrue said.
King repeatedly asked Harris for his license and vehicle registration, but Harris refused to hand them over, Sughrue said. King then placed Harris under arrest and eventually used the pepper spray.
King also called for backup help, Sughrue said, but had gained custody of Harris before other officers arrived.
Sughrue said King took Harris to the Wake County magistrate's office where he was charged with the two misdemeanors
Harris, 51, has been an assistant coach at NCSU for 10 years, including serving as associate head coach last season, according to a biography on an NCSU Web site. He came to NCSU after serving as an assistant coach at Washington State University in 1995-96.
He is a native of Cleveland and graduated in 1978 from the University of Pittsburgh where he played basketball for the Panthers. He spent two seasons in the NBA, with the San Diego Clippers and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
An NCSU spokeswoman said that Harris declined to comment.
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