Family friend shares motivation and memories of SPD officer killed

A Seattle police officer, Alexandra Harris, was off duty when she was killed trying to help at the scene of a crash.  But people who love her said she was never off the job of trying to make her city better.

Harris wanted everyone to call her “Lexi.” She joined the force five years ago.

“There probably were people who might have a little surprised that she decided to become a police officer. But once she did, it made perfect sense,” said longtime family friend Barbara Smith. Smith watched her grow up.

“She was feisty. She could laugh. She was funny. She had amazing insights. She was easy to talk to,” she added.

Harris was born in Seattle and enjoyed athletics.

She was a fitness trainer before deciding to become a police officer, and she always wanted to help.

“She would meet somebody who’s experiencing homelessness. She would try to help them find resources. And then she would come back to them and find them again and say, ‘How can I help you again?’” Smith said.

It’s been an exhausting year of scrutiny for police officers in general. But Smith said there was never a day that Harris didn’t love her work.

“Sure, there was very difficult times. But if you ask any one of her colleagues, they’ll tell you that she was inspiring, that she was a leader, that she was a rising star in the department,” Smith said.

So when Harris came upon the Interstate 5 crashes in the dark, raining hours of Sunday morning, it was a given that she would stop to help, even though she was off duty.

“She has been that like that her whole life, so it wasn’t surprising at all that she was stopping to help people when the tragedy occurred. ... Her commitment to this community and helping people wasn’t something that she just wore a badge for. It was a part of who she was,” Smith said.

Harris’ family is still deciding on plans for a memorial.

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