Harold Phillips was 54 when he was shot five times in the back and killed in Colfax, Louisiana, on July 24, 2009. The shooting was carried out by Colfax police officer Stephen Merchant, who was later arrested and tried for the killing.

A jury convicted Merchant of manslaughter and he was sentenced to five years at hard labor in the Louisiana state prison. After the criminal case, Phillips’s family filed a civil suit against the town of Colfax and Officer Merchant. The town was dismissed under a Louisiana law requiring proof that a municipality knew an officer was dangerous; Merchant had no prior record of such behavior. The family later dismissed their lawyer, did not obtain new representation, and the entire lawsuit was thrown out, leaving them without financial compensation.

Are there any local records or witnesses from Colfax who can shed more light on the events of July 24, 2009?