The family of a man killed by Fall River police officers three years ago is offering a $10,000 reward for tips that advance their understanding of the investigation into his death.
Their relative, Anthony Harden, was shot in his bedroom in November 2021 by a Fall River police officer shortly after Harden’s girlfriend reported him for alleged domestic violence.
An investigation by the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office cleared the two police officers involved of wrongdoing based on statements they made claiming Harden attacked one of them with a knife.
Investigators did not find a knife near Harden’s body, instead marking a steak knife found behind a television set across the room as the alleged weapon.
Harden’s family has since mounted an aggressive legal battle to gather more investigative records and petition Massachusetts’ highest court to remove the district attorney from office. The latter lawsuit established that the officer who claimed Harden attacked him, Michael Sullivan, is a lifelong friend of the district attorney’s son — a potential conflict of interest that the district attorney, Thomas M. Quinn III, never disclosed during his investigation.
Over the weekend, Harden’s family also aired a television ad during a regional broadcast of Sunday Night Football that announced their offer of a $10,000 reward for additional tips about the investigation.
The ad featured a brief video segment of Sullivan’s interview with investigators about the shooting, which shows Sullivan telling them that he never saw a weapon in Harden’s hands or near his body.
The ad directs viewers to a website where Harden’s family presents their narrative of the shooting, and invites anonymous tips from the public through a built-in form.
In an interview, Harden’s brother, Eric Mack, said he is offering a total of $10,000 in rewards to be split among people who provide credible information relevant to the family’s lawsuits.
“I need to get information that’s actually directly relevant to the shooting and directly relevant to advancing the ball on understanding what did and did not happen that night,” Mack said.
The Bristol County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request for comment. The Fall River Police Department referred questions to the law department at City Hall, which did not respond to a request for comment.