Man who ate parts of police cruiser after arrest dies

Michael A. Harris died Monday night at Immanuel Medical Center, said Officer Michael Pecha, a police spokesman. The cause of his death has not been determined and an autopsy has been ordered.

Harris was taken to the hospital Sept. 19 after police were called to Sugar Hill Liquor at 5627 Ames Ave. According to a police report, two employees told officers that Harris entered the store about 11 p.m. and “said something about having been in a fight.”

Liquor store owner Joyce Westbrook-Davis declined to comment on Harris’ death other than to say she and her staff had been hoping and praying for his recovery.

Pecha said Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine will determine whether Michael Harris would still be considered in custody at the time of his death. State law requires a grand jury to be convened when someone dies in jail, in police custody or during an arrest.

Harris, who was 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, allegedly picked up a liquor bottle and tried to hit a customer over the head before being restrained by the employees, the police report said. An employee was pushed through the glass door of a large refrigerator and another employee was bitten on the arm during the ensuing struggle.

The report said Harris was placed in a police cruiser, where a camera recorded some bizarre behavior. He caused considerable damage to the cruiser despite being handcuffed and having “flex cuffs” placed on his ankles.

The report said Harris “began eating pieces of the headliner which he had pulled down and the wiring behind it.” Harris was said to be “extremely uncooperative” and Omaha Fire Department paramedics were unable to treat him.

“At one point he began chewing on his hands, causing severe lacerations,” the report said. “He also pulled out three of his own teeth and possibly ate one of his socks.”

At Immanuel, police said Harris was restrained on a bed in the emergency room. At that time, the report said, his heart stopped and he had to be resuscitated.

The report said police suspected that Harris was under the influence of drugs. Kevin Harris of Omaha, the dead man’s father, said he doesn’t know if that was true. There might have been some medical reason for the behavior, he said.

“I saw him five minutes before (the incident), and he was fine,” Harris said. “I went back to see why he hadn’t shown up at my place and the lady at the store said, ‘Something’s wrong with your son. He was fighting like a madman.’ ”

A police officer gave the elder Harris a ride to the hospital, where he said he was unable to see his son but spoke with a doctor. He said the doctor told him that he was worried about the length of time Michael Harris’ brain had gone without oxygen.

The father said he later learned that his son would have severe brain damage if he ever recovered. “The doctor said that he would be blind and be like a 3-year-old” if he recovered.

Kevin Harris said he wants to know what happened to his son, who worked as an auto salesman and wrote rap tunes in his spare time.

“He wrote and produced rap,” the elder Harris said. “That was his life’s passion.”

In addition to his father, Michael Harris is survived by two young children; his mother, Alicia Gullie; brothers Kevin Harris Jr. and Joshua; and sisters Lisa Harris and Monique Farmer, all of Omaha.