SEATTLE — Officer Alexandra Harris was hit and killed on her way home from work early Saturday morning.
Harris, who goes by “Lexi,” joined the Seattle Police Department five years ago. It was a second career for Harris, 38. Harris was a personal trainer and worked in gym management. She mastered martial arts and has incredible strength and balance. She brought her physical and mental strength to her job as a bicycle officer, working in the West Precinct of the Seattle Police Department.
And when it got hard last summer as she worked for the bike squad at protest after protest, she focused on making things better and rebuilding trust.
“I wanted to do something to give back or make an impactful change,” said Harris on the podcast. “What can I do? What can I change? It’s not complaining, not just coming to work, but giving back and making an impact.”
She started a company, iURA LLC, and a podcast called “The Leaderist.” The focus is to improve the relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve through enhanced leadership.
The podcasts are with fellow SPD Officer Cali Hinzman.
“Really, leadership has nothing to do with rank. Rank is just a title,” said Hinzman on “The Leaderist” podcast.
When officers left the department by the dozens, these officers worked to find a way to try to be a part of the change.
Knowing there would be fewer officers and more work, Harris wasn’t giving up on strengthening community ties.
“Going to call to call to call, we’re stretched very thin, so it make it hard to have those times in between to have those interactions with community. So we’re going to have to figure out how to make that up. If that’s something I have to do on my own time, I’m perfectly willing to do that,” said Harris.
Early Sunday morning, on her way home from work, she came across a three-car accident on Interstate 5. She pulled over and got out to check on the drivers. That’s when the Washington State Patrol stated Harris was hit and killed. The driver stayed on the scene and cooperated with investigators. Someone from the earlier crash actually took off in her car. Detectives are still looking for that driver.
Harris’ death is devastating to her law enforcement family. She was fierce in the gym, mastering capoeira, a form of Brazilian martial arts that mixes fighting and dance. She quickly made her way up the ranks to teach defensive tactics at SPD.
Her fellow officers told KIRO 7 she was a real-life Wonder Woman. She even had a Wonder Woman tattoo on her arm.
She died protecting others, never realizing she was the one they looked up to.
“I have no idea if people looked at me and said, ‘I want to be that kind of officer,’” said Harris in “The Leaderist” podcast. “I have certainly looked at officers I’ve worked with or near and said, ‘I want to be that kind of officer.’”
Harris leaves behind a fiancé and his daughters. Friends said she called them her “bonus daughters.”
“Officer Harris embodied everything the Seattle Police Department is working to become,” said Chief Adrian Diaz. “Her dedication to the people of this city is an example to every member of our department and all those who will come after her.”
An officer told KIRO 7 that Harris was looking forward to working in her yard later this week when it warms up. Now they will gather and do the work in her honor.