Death of Chavis Carter

The death of Chavis Carter

A 21-year old American male who was found dead from a gunshot while handcuffed in the back of a police patrol car on July 29, 2012, was ruled a suicide by the Arkansas State Crime Lab.^[1][2]
Carter was in the passenger seat of a pickup truck which was stopped by the Jonesboro, Arkansas Police Department.^[3] It was reported that an officer found small amounts of cannabis on his person and ran his information.^[3] The officers discovered that he had an outstanding warrant, so they placed him inside a patrol car with his hands handcuffed behind his back.^[3]
Minutes later, the officers discovered that Chavis Carter was shot in the head. The officers found a semi-automatic, .380-caliber Cobra pistol near the body.^[1] The Jonesboro Police Department believe that he had hidden the gun on his person that the officers did not detect through the search and used it on himself.^[4] Carter's mother disagreed, claiming that Carter had no history of suicidal thoughts or actions and that the police killed him.^[1] In addition, she states that he was left-handed^[1] and handcuffed behind his back, yet the bullet entered through his right temple. The two officers at the scene were placed on administrative leave ad an investigations was started.

Chavis Carter Case: Police Say Handcuffed Man Called Girlfriend From Squad Car 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The girlfriend of a man who was fatally shot in the back of an Arkansas patrol car told an investigator that he called her from the car and said he had a gun with him, police said Wednesday.
Jonesboro police offered those and other new details in a four-page statement about the investigation into the July 28 death of 21-year-old Chavis Carter. The death was ruled a suicide in an autopsy report released earlier this week.
Carter's girlfriend also told the investigator that Carter said he loved her and that he was scared, according to the police statement, which did not identify the woman. Phone records showed Carter made two calls, at least one of which was from the back of the patrol car, police said.
Benjamin Irwin, a Memphis, Tenn., lawyer representing Carter's family, said Wednesday that he was reviewing the latest information from police.
"I think the critical points still remain that this young man was in police custody," he said. "He lost his life at a time when they had a responsibility and duty to protect him."
Police have been facing criticism since they said officers searched Carter twice but didn't find a gun before he was fatally shot in a patrol car. Race is also an issue in the case because Carter was black and police have said the two officers who stopped the truck he was in are white.

Lab denies claims that Chavis Carter's cause of death was ruled a suicide