Aug 20 - Autopsy: [rip] of handcuffed man in Ark. a [rip]

A man whose hands were cuffed behind him in the back seat of an Arkansas patrol car shot himself in the right temple with a handgun he apparently concealed from arresting officers, according to an autopsy report released Monday that listed the [rip] as a [rip].

The state crime lab report, signed by three medical examiners, said the muzzle of a gun was placed against Chavis Carter's head when it was fired. Jonesboro police released the report to The a#sociated Press and other news organizations under a Freedom of Information Act request.

The report said the manner of [rip] was ruled a [rip] based on autopsy findings and investigative conclusions from the Jonesboro police department.

"He was cuffed and placed into a police car, where apparently he produced a weapon, and despite being handcuffed, shot himself in the head," the report said. Chief Medical Examiner Charles P. Kokes did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment.

Police have said officers frisked Carter, 21, twice after a traffic stop without finding a gun before he was fatally shot July 28.

The autopsy report comes days after police released dashboard camera video recorded the night Carter was shot in Jonesboro, about 130 miles northeast of Little Rock. Part of the video showed Carter being patted down and ended before officers found Carter slumped over and bleeding in the back of a patrol car as was described in a police report. Police later released additional video they said was recorded after Carter was found.

Neither included the moment they say Carter shot himself, and the footage did little to resolve questions about how the shooting could have happened.

Carter's [rip] came after police stopped a truck in which he was riding. The driver and another pa#senger eventually were allowed to go, but police said Carter had an outstanding arrest warrant. Court records show it had to do with a drug charge out of Mississippi's DeSoto County.

Carter was searched twice and police said they found a small amount of marijuana, but no gun. After the first search, an officer put Carter into a patrol car without handcuffing him. He was later searched again, handcuffed and returned to the same car.

"It's obvious they did miss the weapon on the first search. It is likely, since he was placed into the car un-handcuffed the first time, that he had an opportunity to stash the weapon in the car," Jonesboro Police Chief Michael Yates said last week. "The second search, which was more thorough and inclusive, did not disclose the weapon either."

Officers a short time later saw Carter slumped over in the backseat and covered in blood, according to the police report, which concluded he had managed to conceal a handgun with which he shot himself. He later died at a hospital.

As part of their investigation, the Jonesboro Police Department also released a video reconstruction of the shooting showing how a man could shoot himself in the head with his hands cuffed behind him.

In producing the video, the agency said it used the same type of handcuffs used on Carter and the same model of handgun found with Carter after he died, a .380-caliber Cobra semi-automatic. An officer of similar height and weight as Carter sat in the back of a cruiser, leaned over and was able to lift the weapon to his head and reach the trigger.

The autopsy report released Monday said Carter was about 5 feet 8 inches and that his body weighed 150 pounds.

Cellphone videos, other phone records, search warrant returns and investigative portions of the incident report had not been released Monday, police spokesman Sgt. Lyle Waterworth said.

"As the investigation continues and as prudent further information will be released," Waterworth said in an email. "Any other questions will be answered upon completion of investigation."

Benjamin Irwin, a Memphis, Tenn., lawyer representing Carter's family, said they're reviewing the autopsy report and plan to release a statement. Supporters of the family are expected to gather Monday in Memphis near the National Civil Rights Museum.

Autopsy: [rip] of handcuffed man in Ark. a [rip] :: WRAL.com


fishy.....very fishy

This seems physically impossible with your hands cuffed behind your back.

You gotta be kiddin me...........

I def. wanna see their vid, reconstructing that incident, b/c that just seems kinda unreal.

i mean i could see him getting a gun by them the first time and stashing it in the car but how he shot himself in the head with his hands behind his back is kinda interesting...i guess it could be done but still seems like a long shot. but i guess ppl do desperate things at times like these? still seems sketchy

cops shoot the man while he's cuffed in the back. One of the officers say"holy fuk I shot him!" Other officer says"holy fuk we gotta figure something out here or we're definitely screwed, I need my job!" Other officer says, "write in the report that he snatched the gun while he was cuffed, humans are stupid they'll believe us easily, we're cops!"

AmericonLawst.

I still don't believe he k#lled himself on purpose. Accidental [rip] seems more logical. But that's just me trying to find logic in an illogical world.

hooooowwww.....i cant believe that it was possible AT All...somebody needs to post the vid

Look for the reenactment vid I seen it on huffington very possible but I don't them missing the gun after searching him twice

Like seriously.... Dey expect us to believe dat?? & wtf happened 2 da video???? Dey k#lled em!!

[pic] please explain how this could possibly be an accidental [rip] dumbazz. I really want to hear an answer

There's intentionally no room in the back of a squad car. If he stash a gun while handcuffed, the only place to stash it would have been by his feet. How the !! did he get by his feet while handcuffed and reposition himself to do that without the officers noticing that he was moving around too much???

Especially since they must have been worried about him seeing that they frisked him twice. If he was that much of a threat, they wouldn't have been that nonchalant about his back seat fidgeting. [pic]

He was cuffed with his hands behind his back and was searched twice no weapon found he was left handed and shot himself on the right side of the head all for having less 5 grams of weed. That !! doesn't add up nobody k#lls them self for a dime bag. Plus since when does dash cam footage disappear the pigs don't control it the can just runs somebody deleted it simple as that.

i'm flexible in my shoulders and i can't bring my hands to no where near my head to pull a gun trigger....that's impossible. someone please post the reconstruction video. i don't believe this for a minute. he missed the gun the first time???? and this is arkansas? don't believe that either. he's a small frame, slim dude. there aren't that many places that you can hide a gun on your person and a cop isn't going to find it unless the pat down was really bull!!. then he stashed it in the back of the cruiser, pulled it out and k#ll himself. they searched him again so they didn't see it in the back of the cruiser??? there no spaces back there and you can't really stash !! anywhere. so many police on citizen issues these days where ppl are losing their life or being a#saulted for some bull!!. this !! has gotta !!ing stop already.

what you didn't figure this one out??? he stashed it by his feet.....brought his feet through his hands discretely, without moving too much in the backseat of a police car, after the second, i'm sure, bull!! pat down, grabbed the gun with his right hand although he's a lefty and shot himself on the right side of his head. easy. how could you not figure this out??? and the dash cam, conveniently, wasn't recording at the time so we have to take the word of our trustworthy police officers. u idiot. [pic]

ok, the idiot part was a bit much.....[pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic]

to be honest I am not suprised at all. After all it did happen in hick state Arkansas where all the cops, judges, and DA's are buddy buddy. If this happened in LA or NY or any other major city, !! would hit the fan. RIP regardless, !! sounds fishy as !!.

that dude didn't shoot himself, clearly a cover up here.

Yall wanted it here it goes.....Dont believe the hype. Like dude said, ALL OVER A WEED CHARGE.

Damn, u right fam.

How could I have not considered that????[pic]

Because your not thinking man. Com on brah if the cop said it was [rip] gotdamnit IT WAS [rip]. Police are here to protect and serve and every cop I know is damn good at their job.
Don't doubt them again? [pic]