Man accused of abuse wanted an ‘epic and savage’ mugshot. Others say it’s a disgrace
Brandon Trice Harmon wanted an “epic and savage” mugshot. So he wore a blond wig and fake glasses when he posed last month.
He was arrested in Major County, Okla., on a misdemeanor warrant for domestic assault and battery in the presence of a minor.
He has a smirk on his face in the photo. But the family of the victim of his alleged crime is not amused that county law enforcement officials allowed the picture to be taken that way.
“It was like they made a mockery of the Domestic Abuse Awareness Month,” Kathy Lambert, the victim’s mother, told the Enid News & Eagle.
“They just took pictures of the deputies wearing ‘We support domestic violence month’ shirts, but yet they let this happen.”
Sheriff Steve Randolph would not comment to local media about the photo, which Lambert saw in the October issue of Jailbirds, which publishes mugshots.
She accused Randolph of giving Harmon, 34, special treatment because the two men are friends.
“Nobody else gets that opportunity,” she said. “It’s just a slap in the face to all the women who are abused daily. It’s a sad crime that happens daily, it was just a disgrace.”
A warrant for Harmon’s arrest was issued Sept. 6; he was arrested on Sept. 11, according to local media.
He is accused of “grasping” his spouse in a bear hug, forcing her down on a bed and holding her down in front of their minor child. He has pleaded not guilty.
He told The Edmond Sun he was out of town when the warrant for his arrest was issued.
“Mind you the courthouse was closed and the sheriff including his deputies were not present. I arrived at the facility in the wig and glasses not to poke fun at anything other than I’m going to have an epic and savage, according to social media, ‘Jailbird’ pic,” Harmon told the Sun.
“The dispatcher working at the time had no clue who I was, she simply did her job, booked me and moved on with her day.”
In a statement to the News & Eagle, Harmon said the charges stem from a divorce “that has been going on for over year now. These are very serious charges, and I take them very seriously. There will be no comment otherwise about the case.”
Without statewide guidelines, mugshots vary from department to department, Ray McNair, executive director of the Oklahoma Sheriff’s Association, told the Sun.
“There is no standardized method for taking booking photos, and that’s unfortunate in the state of Oklahoma,” McNair said. “That’s been a issue we’ve had for some time.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2017 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Man accused of abuse wanted an ‘epic and savage’ mugshot. Others say it’s a disgrace."