QUESTIONS BEING RAISED ABOUT SUICIDE INSIDE POLICE CAR

Man shoots self in head with hands cuffed behind his back and after being searched twice

The victim’s mother accuses police of shooting her pot-smoking son. Second guessers cannot see how a man with his hands cuffed behind his back can shoot himself in the head.

DEATH IN JONESBORO PATROL CAR BELIEVED SUICIDE

Associated Press
August 4, 2012

JONESBORO, Ark. — Jonesboro police believe the shooting death of a handcuffed man inside a city patrol car was a suicide, according to an email from Police Chief Mike Yates.

Chavis Chacobie Carter, 21, of Southaven, Miss., died July 28 after apparently shooting himself despite having his hands cuffed behind his back and being searched twice following a traffic stop.

Yates has asked the FBI to assist in the investigation and it is monitoring the case, the chief said.

Officers Keith Baggett and Ron Marsh remain on paid administrative leave pending the results of the investigation, Yates said, The Jonesboro Sun reported (http://bit.ly/QVEPL0 ) Saturday.

Yates released a summary of the investigation, which he said is intended to update the public on how the investigation is progressing.

"At this point the investigation continues, and it is recognized that all possibilities have not been exhausted, which means that the case is neither complete nor closed,"

Baggett had been dispatched to a city street because of complaints that a pickup truck had been driving up and down the street with its lights off, police said.

Carter was riding in the truck with two Missouri residents, whom Baggett was able to identify, but Carter identified himself as Laryan Bowman, Yates said.

Baggett was unable to find a record of Laryan Bowman in police computers, and Marsh was summoned to assist.

"Due to the suspicious nature of the stop, each occupant was 'frisked' or 'patted down,' not necessarily a full search at this point because they did not know what they had nor if any arrests were to be made," Yates said in the summary.

Yates said a small amount of marijuana and some small plastic bags commonly used to package drugs were found in Carter's pocket and he was taken to Marsh's patrol car without handcuffs. Carter then acknowledged his true identity to Marsh, and the officers then learned Carter was wanted in Mississippi.

Yates said Marsh handcuffed Carter behind his back and searched him a second time. He then returned Carter to the back seat of the patrol car.

Yates said the other two people had no warrants and were released. As the officers were returning to their cars, Marsh noticed a burning odor and saw Carter slumped over in the patrol car.

Yates said investigators have interviewed several witnesses whose "statements are consistent with the statements of the officers and the evidence reflected by the dash-cam video of the responding officer along with audio evidence from the backup officer."

Yates said neither Baggett nor Marsh appear to have removed their weapons or fired a shot during the incident and that the patrol car in which Carter was placed had its windows up and intact, "indicating no possibility of a bullet penetrating from the outside."

Yates said the manner in which Carter was shot remains unexplained and under investigation while his body has been sent to the state Crime Lab for an autopsy.