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Former Pharr police chief accused of striking police officers during arrest

Former Pharr police chief accused of striking police officers during arrest
1 year 2 months 3 days ago Tuesday, October 03 2023 Oct 3, 2023 October 03, 2023 10:25 PM October 03, 2023 in News - Local

Former Pharr police Chief Andy Harvey struck two officers in the face during his arrest last month, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.

Harvey was arrested Sept. 23 on charges of resisting arrest and abuse of 911 service.

According to the complaint, two Pharr police officers responded to the 1000 block of West Daffodil Avenue on Sept. 23 at 10:17 p.m. and checked Harvey’s cellphone after he voluntarily handed it to one of the officers.

Moments later, Harvey then took his cellphone and started walking away from the officers, the complaint stated.

The officers told Harvey to stop and attempted to physically detain him. Harvey reacted by tensing his body and holding on to the front door of the residence.

One of the officers was “struck on the face by the defendant’s left closed fist,” and the reporting officer witnessed Harvey striking the other officer in the face, the complaint stated.

In a statement made to police, Harvey said he did not intend to strike the officers, “but if he did it was an accident.”

Channel 5 News reached out to Harvey's attorney — Mark Anthony Sanchez — who provided the following statement:

“As a lifelong peace officer who has served as chief of police for the city of Pharr, Andy Harvey has the utmost respect for first responders and would never intentionally abuse the public’s 9-1-1 lifeline. He categorically disputes any claims that he intentionally abused the public’s trust. The evidence shows that Mr. Harvey cooperated with city of Pharr law enforcement officers to resolve any possible misunderstanding until they stormed into his home, assaulted him, and arrested him. He is a victim of police misconduct and eagerly awaits for his day in court for vindication.”

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