“I think they killed him, my son wasn’t suicidal.”
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Friday, August 3, 2012
Jonesboro Police claim a man who was searched, handcuffed, double-locked and bundled in the back of a patrol car shot himself in the head, an explanation the man’s mother dismisses as a cover-up for murder.
After officers claimed Chavis Carter was in possession of drugs, they searched him before handcuffing him and putting him in the back of a patrol car. The handcuffs were double-locked, making it harder for the lock to be picked.
Police then claim they heard a “thumping noise” before turning around to see Carter slumped on the back seat shot in the head.
“They’re still investigating but they think Chavis, somehow managed to pull out a hidden gun and shot himself in the head,”reports WREG Memphis, despite the fact that officers found no weapon on him during the search.
“I think they killed him, my son wasn’t suicidal,” said the man’s mother Teresa Carter.
She adds that Chavis was shot in the right temple and yet he is left-handed.
Carter also points out that Chavis called his girlfriend while pulled over and assured her that he would be in contact again when he got to jail.
The officer involved in the incident has been placed on leave pending an investigation.
Sergeant Lyle Waterworth attempted to deflect accusations of murder by claiming that officers could have easily missed the gun during the search.
“Any given officer has missed something on a search, be it drugs, knife, razor blades, this instance it happened to be a gun” said Waterworth.
However, that doesn’t explain why a man who was not suicidal was somehow able to put a gun to the side of his head and pull the trigger while handcuffed.
As police brutality in America escalates to new heights of violence and abuse, more and more unprovoked deaths are occurring, but punishments for officers who shoot victims dead are often miniscule.
In January 2009, 22-year-old Oscar Grant was shot in the back by policeman Johannes Mehserle as he lay on a platform at a railway station in Oakland California. Mehserle was charged with involuntary manslaughter after he claimed he had meant to use his Taser and not a gun and ended up serving just two years in jail for killing Grant.
Arkansas Police Release ‘Suicide’ Reenactment Video Of Handcuffed Man Who Shot Himself In The Head
Police chief: “It’s very possible and it’s quite easy.”
Steve Watson
Infowars.com
Aug 15, 2012
Police in Jonesboro investigating the death of a man they detained in the back of a squad car have released a video that they say explains how he could have shot himself in the head while his hands were handcuffed behind his back.
The story hit the headlines earlier this month as officers claimed that 21 year old Chavis Carter killed himself after being searched on suspicion of possessing marijuana. Officers double-locked the handcuffs, making it harder for the lock to be picked, but claimed that Carter was able to pull out a hidden gun, raise it to his head and pull the trigger while they were temporarily away from the car.
The officers say they found a small, .380 caliber handgun and a spent cartridge in the backseat next to Carter’s slumped lifeless body. They claim that the weapon must have been overlooked when they searched Carter, twice.
As part of the investigation into the death, and perhaps also in response to claims of foul play, police released a video, depicting several officers of different heights and builds being cuffed, but still being able to raise a concealed replica gun to their heads.
In a message at the beginning, the video is described as “non-evidentiary reproduction of facts and circumstances associated with the pending investigation of the Chavis Carter in-custody death.”
The message states that the scenes depicted were intended to investigate “the possibility that an individual, hand-cuffed behind his back, may or may not have the ability to use a concealed firearm in a manner that would give rise to his or her death.”
“The circumstances displayed are not intended to illustrate the only means by which an individual could injure themselves but merely to determine the feasibility of these actions,” the video states.
“The investigation is active and awaits forensic and other investigative material that will be used to complete a full inquiry into this matter.” the message concludes.
Autopsy Rules Handcuffed Man Shot Himself in Back of Police Car
Adan Salazar
Infowars.com
August 20, 2012
A handcuffed man that had been searched twice shot himself in the head in the back of a squad car. That’s the conclusion the Arkansas State Crime Lab has reached today after conducting an autopsy of Chavis Carter.
Following the release of dashcam footage this weekend that shone absolutely no light on the suspicious circumstances surrounding Carter’s death, an autopsy report released by the Arkansas State Crime Lab has officially labelled Carter’s death a suicide.
“In consideration of the circumstances of death and after autopsy of the body, it is our opinion that Chavis Carter, a 21-year-old black male, died of a gunshot wound of the head. The agencies responsible for the investigation of his death were the Jonesboro Police Department and the Craighead County Coroner’s Office. They reported that he was detained during a traffic stop.He was cuffed and placed into a police car, where apparently he produced a weapon, and despite being handcuffed, shot himself in the head.”
“At autopsy, the cause of death was a perforating gunshot wound of the head. At the time of discharge, the muzzle of the gun was placed against the right temporal scalp. The bullet perforated the cranial cavity, causing brain injuries, skull fractures, and death. The bullet exited the left side of the head…MANNER OF DEATH: Suicide”
Carter was arrested in Jonesboro, Arkansas on July 28 on charges of failure to appear in court. According to the police report, moments after hearing Officer Ron Marsh thump on his trunk, Officer Keith Baggett says he exited his car and was told by Officer Marsh that Carter had shot himself.
Police say Carter’s handcuffs had been double-locked behind his back and he was frisked twice before being placed in the back of a squad car. Somehow, however, police say they managed to miss a .380 caliber Cobra semi-auto firearm.
Sergeant Lyle Waterworth defended his officers’ lousy search, stating, “Any given officer has missed something on a search, be it drugs, be it knives, be it razor blades. In this instance it happened to be a gun.”
Amid an uproar of protest by the citizens of Jonesboro, police have frantically been racing to convince the public that Carter’s death was in fact a suicide, even releasing a police reenactment video showing handcuffed officers of all shapes and sizes seen being able to lift a gun to their right temples while sitting in the back of a squad car.
However, some think the act of producing a video illustrating this is suspicious in and of itself.
Teresa Carter, Chavis’ mother, says there’s no mystery behind her son’s death. Two weeks ago, she told WREG, “I think they [police] killed him, my son wasn’t suicidal.”
Other red flags pointed out by Carter’s mother include Chavis’ right temple gunshot wound, despite his being left-handed, and also a call Chavis made to his girlfriend, moments prior to being arrested, letting her know he would be calling her from jail.
The Jonesboro police department has also faced criticism for their lack of racial diversity, having only three black officers to their 145 white officers.
Believing that police are responsible for Carter’s death is not so farfetched.
Of course, the autopsy is partially biased, its last sentence stating: “The manner of death is based on both autopsy findings and the investigative conclusions of the Jonesboro Police Department.” The FBI is also investigating the controversial death and has yet to release its findings.
Baggett and Marsh are on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
