The Region - News from March 24, 1987

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said there will be no prosecution in the Jan. 11, 1985, death of Stuart C. Harrison, a felony assault suspect, because the death appeared to be due to natural causes. Harrison, 40, accused of stabbing a woman acquaintance after attempting to rape her, collapsed and died after being arrested by Long Beach police. One witness said officers struck Harrison; another said a chokehold was applied. But other witnesses disputed these accounts. One examination by a coroner’s autopsy surgeon determined that Harrison had died as a result of neck trauma. But subsequent examination by a neuropathology specialist resulted in a verdict of death due to natural causes, and the district attorney’s office said there was no possibility of successful prosecution. The Harrison family has filed a $36-million federal lawsuit against the arresting officers.