MEMPHIS, Tenn. \u2014 A man police say shot himself in the head while his hands were cuffed behind him in the back of an Arkansas patrol car tested positive for methamphetamine, anti-anxiety medication and other drugs, according to an autopsy report released Monday that listed his death as a suicide.<\/p>\n
The state crime lab report said the muzzle of a handgun that Chavis Carter<\/strong> apparently concealed from arresting officers was placed against his right temple when it was fired. The report, signed by three medical examiners, included a drug analysis showing Carter\u2019s<\/strong> urine and blood indicated methamphetamine and other drug use.<\/p>\n The report, released to The Associated Press and other news organizations under a Freedom of Information Act request, said Carter\u2019s<\/strong> blood also tested positive for at least trace amounts of the anti-anxiety medication diazepam and the painkiller oxycodone. His urine test also returned a positive result for marijuana.<\/p>\n The report said Carter\u2019s<\/strong> death was ruled a suicide based on autopsy findings and investigative conclusions from the Jonesboro Police Department, which has faced questions from Carter\u2019s family and community members about the circumstances surrounding the July 28 shooting.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was cuffed and placed into a police car, where apparently he produced a weapon, and despite being handcuffed, shot himself in the head,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n Benjamin Irwin<\/strong>, a Memphis, Tenn., lawyer representing Carter\u2019s<\/strong> family, declined to comment on the specifics of the toxicology report, calling instead for police to release details of any gunpowder residue or other such tests.<\/p>\n \u201cIf those tests were taken \u2026 what were the results?\u201d Irwin asked.<\/p>\n On Monday night dozens of Carter<\/strong> family supporters gathered outside the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., for a candlelight vigil.<\/p>\n Carter\u2019s<\/strong> mother, Teresa Carter<\/strong>, wiped her eyes as people spoke about her late son. \u201cMy heart is so heavy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MEMPHIS, Tenn. \u2014 A man police say shot himself in the head while his hands were cuffed behind him in the back of an Arkansas patrol car tested positive for methamphetamine, anti-anxiety medication and other drugs, according to an autopsy report released Monday that listed his death as a suicide. The state crime lab report […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":210,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","pmpro-has-access"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16321\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flsentinel.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}