Superior Court judge orders DA Quinn to release records to family of man killed by police

FALL RIVER — A Suffolk County Superior Court judge has ordered Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III to release public records of an investigation into the death of Anthony Harden, the 30-year-old city man who in November 2021 was shot and killed in his bedroom by a Fall River officer after police responded to a domestic assault complaint.

“We are a step closer to where we are going,” said Harden’s brother, Eric Mack, regarding the public records ruling by Suffolk County Superior Court Judge James Budreau on March 6.

Gregg Miliote, spokesman for the Bristol County District Attorney’s office, gave the following response by email to a request for comment:

“At the end of the investigation last year, our office published a detailed report on all of the findings and conclusions. In an effort to be as open as possible, we also publicly released several hundred pages of records, which included videos, audio recordings, photographs and police reports.  We are currently reviewing the court’s decision in this matter to determine our next course of action.”

In his email, Miliote noted that Mack's lawsuit “was initiated before our investigation concluded, and a number of the requests made by the plaintiff were not pursued during the pendency of this case.”

DA moved to dismiss

In February 2022, the District Attorney's Office moved to dismiss Mack's lawsuit seeking the records, saying the office's investigation into the case was incomplete and so they could not legally release the information sought. That April, the DA withdrew that motion, saying the shooting investigation was now completed, and publicly released its information on the case.

Publicly released information: Bristol County DA issued a final report on Anthony Harden's death. Here are the details it revealed.

Two police officers cleared by the DA’s office

Though not named in the report, Quinn’s investigation found Harden tried to stab Officer Michael Sullivan with a steak knife two and a half minutes after he and his partner, Officer Chelsea Campellone, entered Harden's apartment to question him about an alleged assault on his girlfriend two days prior.

According to the report, Harden allegedly lunged at the male police officer, pinned him against the wall and attempted to stab him in the head and neck area numerous times, but the officer was able to deflect the blows.

Campellone shot Harden twice. Quinn’s investigation found Harden’s shooting death was a justified use of force.

At the time of the shooting, Harden was on house arrest and wearing a GPS awaiting a trial that was scheduled to begin in December for a 2019 alleged assault on his wife. Though he was known to Fall River police for that incident, which resulted in an hours-long police standoff during which Harden used his 5-month-old daughter to keep police at bay, he was not known to the two officers involved in the shooting, according to the report.

Quinn on the police shooting: DA withdraws its motion to dismiss the Anthony Harden open records lawsuit. Here's why.

Harden family files notice of intent to sue city

Since their brother's death, Harden’s siblings have questioned the officers' actions and the DA’s investigation into the police-involved shooting, organizing protest rallies and filing another lawsuit with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in an attempt to oust Quinn from office.

The family also gave public notice in January that they intend to file a $50 million wrongful death civil lawsuit against the City of Fall River and the police department.

Back and forth:DA Quinn wants to dismiss a lawsuit from Anthony Harden's family. They're not backing down

The city has six months to respond before the family can file a lawsuit either in state or federal court.

The requested public records are not exempt

Mack, an employment litigation attorney, filed the public records lawsuit in January 2022, requesting a summary judgment to order Quinn to release video interviews with police and EMS who responded to Harden’s apartment at 120 Melville St., early in the evening on Nov. 22.

In addition, Mack requested that photos and videos be released of the scene where the shooting occurred in Harden’s bedroom, as well as draft reports on Harden’s death and the investigation.

Harden family seeks more info:Family of Fall River man killed by police sues for report

At the time of the DA's investigation, Quinn’s office refused to identify Campellone and Sullivan after a public records request by The Herald News, or release the names of other responding public safety personnel. It’s information that Mack included in the public records lawsuit.

How the judge made his ruling

In Budreau’s ruling, he indicated that the DA's office argued two main points for withholding the information under the public records law, which allows exemptions on what information can be released to the public: first, that the disclosure of the public officials' names would constitute an invasion of privacy rights of those individuals; the second point was that certain records were exempt from public records law “because they related to the agency’s investigatory techniques ...”

Budreau allowed the release of all the records that Mack requested, finding Quinn’s arguments are “overwhelmed by the public’s right to know.”

Regarding the disclosure of the officers' identities, Budreau opined that the public officials involved in the Harden case were not acting in the capacity of private citizens, essentially negating the DA’s argument that they have a right to privacy.

“The failure to disclose this information would raise questions amongst the public about why this information was being withheld, which would only serve to undermine the integrity of the law enforcement departments and those reviewing their conduct,” wrote Budreau.

SJC lawsuit still pending

Mack filed the second lawsuit last June with the Supreme Judicial Court. In this lawsuit, Mack argues that Quinn should be removed from office, citing that his “[mis]conduct exemplifies a public official who has placed his political aspirations and personal relationships above the interests of the citizens of Bristol County."

Mack claims that Quinn should have recused his office from conducting the investigation into his brother’s death because he alleges Quinn’s son was a childhood friend and college roommate of Sullivan, the officer who was allegedly the target of Harden’s knife attack. Quinn has publicly denied these claims.

Mack’s lawsuit also makes claims Quinn erroneously cleared another Fall River officer of wrongdoing, Nicholas Hoar, who shot and killed 19-year-old Larry Ruiz-Barreto in 2017 in the Fall River Industrial Park.

Hoar is currently facing federal charges for a civil rights violation against another man he’s accused of beating while in custody at police headquarters, after a nearly two-year investigation. Fall River is facing a civil rights lawsuit in the millions for the Ruiz-Barreto shooting.

The SJC denied Mack's motion as part of the lawsuit to prevent attorneys from the DA's office to represent Quinn. Mack has until April 20 to respond to the DA's office to dismiss the lawsuit.

Regarding the public records lawsuit, Mack said he will seek to have the district attorney’s office repay his legal expenses totaling approximately $60,000, which, statutorily, he has a right to recoup.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Judge orders DA to release records in Anthony Harden police shooting