A man handcuffed and in the back of a police squad car was found shot in the head and killed. Now police (of all people) have launched an investigation to determine what happened.
Chavis Carter, 21, was a passenger in a pickup truck that was stopped by police in Jonesboro, Ark., and cops found some marijuana. After running Carter’s information, cops discovered a warrant out of Mississippi, so they placed him in the back of their patrol car.
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“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.
Despite being cuffed — double-locked — behind his back — in the back of a squad car — Carter managed to shoot himself in the head, according to cops.
One cop 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.”
Cops say they heard a thumping noise inside the cruiser, turned around and found Carter shot in the head.
Carter’s mom, Teresa, disagrees. “I think they killed him,” she said. “My son wasn’t suicidal.”
Mom also pointed out that her son was shot in the right temple, although he was left-handed. “I mean, I just want to know what really happened,” she told WREG-TV. “That’s all I want to know.”
The two cops who were present and directly involved in the incident are on administrative leave.