What Do You Think?

[marieodess]

Welcome to the new world order police state of america.

When something like this gets ruled a suicide, it is time that all people to start carrying firearms and cameras. It is time to start making citizens arrests of police officers that in anyway abuse their power or threaten anyone. As well as, citizens standing together to defend themselves, by any means necessary, from the abuses of police across the nation.

It is interesting how the police video/audio recorders somehow managed to record before and after the actual shooting but somehow "malfunctioned" during the time when the person was actually shot.

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copied from:
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/20/13377849-shooting-death-of-handcuffed-man-in-patrol-car-ruled-a-suicide?lite

Aug. 20, 2012


Shooting death of handcuffed man in patrol car ruled a suicideBy Louis Casiano, NBC News


A man's death from a gunshot wound to the head while his hands were handcuffed behind him in an Arkansas police patrol car has been ruled a suicide, The Associated Press reported on Monday.

The AP said the state crime lab report said 21-year-old Chavis Carter shot himself in the right temple of his head with a gun he had hidden. The report was based on autopsy findings and an investigation by the Jonesboro, Ark., Police Department.

Carter's death has prompted skepticism about the police version of events. His father, Charles Douglas, told theGrio that he does not believe that his son's death was a suicide.

"I don’t believe he committed suicide. Until we get justice, we’re not going to get peace. He’s not resting in peace; this won’t be over until he is."

Forensic expert calls suicide 'possible,' 'very unlikely'

Dr. Michael Baden, a former chief medical examiner for the City of New York and expert witness during the O.J. Simpson trial, told theGrio that if the gun used to kill Carter was positioned as it was in the police re-enactment video, there's a slight possibility Carter could have gotten enough leverage to shoot himself.

"It would be possible, I think, but it’s still very unlikely that that would happen," he said.

According to the police video, Carter was hunched over and reached behind his back for the gun and fired, causing the bullet to hit the right side of his head.

Carter and two friends were riding in a truck in Jonesboro on the night of July 28 when they were pulled over. Police said they received reports a of truck matching the description of the vehicle driving up and the down the street with its lights turned off.

During a search of the trio and the vehicle, police found marijuana plastic baggies and a set of scales. After running a check on his name, police learned Carter had a warrant for his arrest in Mississippi for marijuana possession.

He was handcuffed after a second search and placed in the back of the squad car while the officers conducted another search of the truck. Shortly thereafter the officers involved said they heard a gunshot and discovered that Carter had shot himself in the head.

Officers found Carter in the back seat slumped over and covered in blood. The other two riders were allowed to go.

Suspicion over the official account has continued to grow in the city's African-American community.

Police video from the night of the incident provided few answers, as it did not show the shooting.

Prior to the video's release, police released a video reconstruction meant to show how Carter could have shot himself with his hands restrained behind his back.

"We just wanted to get a good perspective on how it could be done and the ease with which it could be done,” said Jonesboro Police Chief Michael Yates.

Yates originally called the shooting "bizarre" and said that the officers' version of events defied logic. But he later said the scenario was "very possible."

One of the officers reported discovering a small-caliber handgun in the spot where Carter died. The gun was not found during the two previous instances Carter was searched.

Baden, the former New York City medical examiner, said the officers bear some culpability in the incident no matter what.

"If he dies in their custody they’re responsible," he said. "At the least, we’re talking about very sloppy police work — not finding a gun that he could have used to shoot one of the officers. And it’s indicative of poor training of the officers."

Yates has come under scrutiny for his department's lack of diversity, with only three out of 145 officers being African-American.

Carter family attorney Benjamin Irwin told the AP he and the family are reviewing the report and will release a statement.

[marieodess]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iLfXfJ7Dq_HYic19hJT7LqpbhLeQ?docId=853ebe1d312c4b1a88c215647bd5c879


Autopsy: Man shot in police car had meth in system

By JEANNIE NUSS, Associated Press –

Aug. 20, 2012


LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A man police say shot himself in the head while his hands were cuffed behind him in the back of an Arkansas patrol car tested positive for methamphetamine, anti-anxiety medication and other drugs, according to an autopsy report released Monday that listed his death as a suicide.

The state crime lab report said the muzzle of a handgun that Chavis Carter apparently concealed from arresting officers was placed against his right temple when it was fired. The report, signed by three medical examiners, included a drug analysis showing Carter's urine and blood indicated methamphetamine and other drug use.

The report, released to The Associated Press and other news organizations under a Freedom of Information Act request, said Carter's blood also tested positive for at least trace amounts of the anti-anxiety medication diazepam and the painkiller oxycodone. His urine test also returned a positive result for marijuana.

The report said Carter's death was ruled a suicide based on autopsy findings and investigative conclusions from the Jonesboro Police Department, which has faced questions from Carter's family and community members about the circumstances surrounding the July 28 shooting.

"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.

Benjamin Irwin, a Memphis, Tenn., lawyer representing Carter's family, declined to comment on the specifics of the toxicology report, calling instead for police to release details of any gunpowder residue or other such tests.

"If those tests were taken ... what were the results?" Irwin asked.

Police have said officers frisked Carter, 21, twice after a traffic stop without finding a gun before he was fatally shot, but the department's internal investigation continues. The FBI also is monitoring the case and the local branch of the NAACP has called for a thorough investigation into the death of Carter, who was black. Two other men who were in a truck with him during the stop and the two officers who were on the scene are white, according to police.

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. Jonesboro police previously had 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 that video, the agency said it used the same type of handcuffs used on Carter and the same model of handgun found near him 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 said Carter was about 5-foot-8 and that his body weighed 150 pounds.

Irwin called Monday for the full dashboard video and audio from the night of the shooting to be released before final conclusions are drawn.

"They should be disclosing every bit of evidence as quickly as they can," he said.

Cellphone videos, other phone records, search warrant returns and investigative portions of the incident report had yet to be released, 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."

Carter's death came after police stopped a truck in which he was riding. The driver and another passenger 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 with his hands still cuffed, according to the police report, which concluded he had managed to conceal the handgun with which he shot himself. He later died at a hospital.

Supporters of the family were expected to gather Monday evening in Memphis near the National Civil Rights Museum.

[marieodess]

http://thegrio.com/2012/08/20/chavis-carter-autopsy-forensic-expert-calls-suicide-possible-very-unlikely/


Chavis Carter autopsy: Forensic expert calls suicide ‘possible,’ ‘very unlikely’

by Joy-Ann Reid | August 20, 2012



The medical examiner in the case of Chavis Carter, the 21-year-old Mississippi man who Jonesboro, Arkansas police say fatally shot himself in the head while handcuffed in the back of a patrol car, ruled Carter’s death a suicide, “based on both the autopsy findings and the investigative conclusions of the Jonesboro Police Department.” But one forensic expert calls that conclusion “possible,” but still “very unlikely.”

Dr. Michael Baden, a forensic pathologist and former chief medical examiner for the City of New York, who is best known for testifying as an expert witness in the O.J. Simpson trial, tells theGrio that if the gun was positioned the way it was in the re-enactment video provided to media outlets by Jonesboro police — with Carter hunched over and reaching behind his back to draw and fire a gun, causing the bullet to pierce his right temple — ”it would be possible, I think, but it’s still very unlikely that that would happen.”


Baden said he was surprised by the “give” in the handcuffs, as seen in the demonstration video, which Jonesboro police created in order to demonstrate that it would be possible for a handcuffed person to perform what many have seen as an physically impossible feat. And he said, “given the nature of the handcuffs, which have a lot of space in between them, it’s possible that he did it to himself.”

Carter tested positive for small amounts of amphetamines, methamphetamine “benzodiazepines” and “cannebinoids,” indicating marijuana, the autopsy also revealed. The autopsy said the bullet entered the scull “with a small backward and downward deviation,” and exited out of the left side of Carter’s head.

“I think a couple of things are still very unlikely,” Baden said. “And I’ve never heard of it happening before.” Carter’s mother has said he was left-handed, but Baden said the fact that he was shot via “contact wound” through his right temple would necessarily be impossible. “The lack of a dominant hand is less relevant” when a suspect is handcuffed, “than if he was free to use both his hands,” Baden said.

And Baden said that whether or not Carter committed suicide, responsibility for his death falls on Jonesboro police.

“If it did happen [the way police said Carter's death occurred,] the police still have entire responsibility for it because when they take someone into custody, they’re responsible for his health and welfare,” Baden said. “If he dies in their custody they’re responsible. At the least, we’re talking about very sloppy police work — not finding a gun that he could have used to shoot one of the officers — and it’s indicative of poor training of the officers.”

As to what should have happened after the shooting, Baden said police should have thoroughly examined the police car for gunshot residue.

“They should examine whether there is blood and gunshot residue on the roof of the car, the back seat etc., because blood spatters and smoke and residue would land on the roof, the back of the seat and on [Carter's] hands,” Baden said, adding that such an examination “would permit reconstruction of how the hands were positioned at the time of discharge” of the firearm.