A police investigation has been launched in response to the shooting death of a 21-year-old man. The victim was shot in the head and died from his injuries while handcuffed and sitting in the back of a police patrol car on Saturday night. The victim, Chavis Carter, was riding as a passenger in a pickup truck that happened to be pulled over by police in Jonesboro, Arkansas. According to a report, an officer found marijuana and decided to run Carter’s information. The officer discovered that Carter had a warrant from Mississippi so he was put into the patrol car.
“As protocol, he was handcuffed behind his back, double-locked and searched,” said Jonesboro Police Department Sgt. Lyle Waterworth.
Minutes after putting Carter in the vehicle, officers claim they heard a thump noise. They turned to the vehicle and found that Carter had been shot in the head. Waterworth said that he believes Carter had a gun hidden on himself, which he pulled out and then shot himself with.
“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.”
Carter’s mom, Teresa Carter, does not agree with the police. “I think they killed him,” she said. “My son wasn’t suicidal.” She was told that her son suffered a bullet wound in his right temple. Her son is left-handed. “I mean, I just want to know what really happened,” she said. “That’s all I want to know.”
The officers present during Carter’s shooting death have been placed on administrative leave.
