CHESHIRE POLICE SAY THEY CANNOT INTERVENE IN TEXAS SHOOTING CASE

Cheshire Police have told Jane Coates that they have “no lawful authority to intervene” in decisions about the shooting death of her daughter, Lucy Harrison, in Texas. Harrison, from Warrington, died after her father, Kris Harrison, shot her in the chest in Prosper on 10 January 2025. Coates asked the force to gather evidence in Britain and liaise with US authorities. In a letter to Coates, Deputy Chief Constable Mike Evans said Cheshire Police could not intervene in decisions taken by agencies in Texas.

A grand jury in Collin County declined to indict Kris Harrison after finding insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges. He told investigators that a Glock handgun discharged accidentally while he was showing it to his daughter. In February, a coroner in England concluded that Lucy Harrison had been unlawfully killed and that her father’s actions amounted to gross negligence manslaughter under UK law. Police in Texas have said they will not reopen their investigation.

Coates travelled to Texas last month to seek a meeting with the Collin County district attorney and ask him to reinstate the investigation. She was told he would not speak to her. Evans said legal, jurisdictional and practical limits restricted what police in England and Wales could do about a death in the United States. He said Cheshire Police had assigned a Senior Investigating Officer to examine the case because of the “unusual circumstances reported” surrounding Harrison’s death.