An Arkansas man who was a passenger in a pickup truck that was pulled over, was placed into a squad car, and within minutes shot to death in the head. He was searched and handcuffed with his hands behind his back and placed into the back seat of the squad car. According to police, he shot himself in the head with his hands handcuffed behind him.
The police stepped away from the car to search the truck when they said they heard a thump, came back to the car and found him shot in the head. He was taken to a hospital and declared dead.
From the story:
Chavis Carter was a passenger in a pickup truck that was stopped by police in Jonesboro, Ark., Saturday night, according to KAIT, an ABC-affiliated television station. An officer reportedly found some marijuana, and ran Carter's information. He was wanted on a warrant out of Mississippi, so officers placed him in a patrol car.
"As protocol, he was handcuffed behind his back, double-locked and searched," said Jonesboro Police Department Sgt. Lyle Waterworth in an interview with WREG-TV.
Just minutes later, police said they heard a thumping noise, turned around and found Carter shot in the head.
Waterworth said he thinks Carter pulled out a hidden gun and shot himself. “Any given officer has missed something on a search, you know, be it drugs, be it knives, be it razor blades," he said. "This instance, it happened to be a gun."
Here's the video of his distraught mother who wants to know how this could have happened. She was told that he was shot in the right temple yet he is left handed. That sounds like an impressive feat of acrobatic gymnastics the man accomplished. Furthermore his mother says he was not suicidal, and he called his girlfriend from inside his car while pulled over, telling her he would call her again from jail.
The two officers present have been placed on administrative leave while an investigation is conducted.
There is no information on why the pickup was pulled over in the first place, and what happened to the driver. The police say some marijuana and baggies were found on Carter's person.
It's also not clear why the pickup was pulled over in the first place, or what happened to the driver. That Chavis Carter was shot to death in police custody is not disputed. The police are claiming that Carter managed to produce a gun (that had been missed in two separate searches) and shoot himself in the head (while his hands were cuffed behind his back). We're not sold at this point, to be honest.
Teresa Carter, Chavis' mother, puts it more directly: "I think they killed him, my son wasn’t suicidal."
Link to Raw Story
article, with more detail, h/t to xxdr zombiexx