Chavis Carter's Death Ruled a Suicide

Updated Tuesday, Aug. 21, 10:25 a.m. EDT: According to a report from the Arkansas state crime lab, Chavis Carter tested positive for methamphetamine, anti-anxiety medication and other drugs, the Associated Press reports. On Monday, officials released a report ruling his death a suicide. The report does not address the question of how, if he was left-handed, he could have shot himself in the right temple.

Earlier:

An Arkansas medical examiner has ruled that 21-year-old Chavis Carter, who died of a gunshot to the head while handcuffed in the rear of a police car, committed suicide. The unedited seven-page report, which was headed up by Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Stephen A. Erickson of the Arkansas State Crime Lab, was released by ABC affiliate KAIT8.

CBS News reports: 

According to the report by Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Stephen A. Erickson of the Arkansas State Crime Lab, the bullet that killed Carter entered his skull near his right temple, four inches from the top of his head.

"At the time of discharge, the muzzle of the gun was placed against the right temporal scalp," wrote Erickson. 

He went on to state that, "The manner of death is based on both autopsy findings and the investigative conclusions of the Jonesboro Police Department."

Last week, Jonesboro police released video of a police officer approximately the same size as Carter reenacting what may have happened the back of the police car on the night of July 28, when Carter and two other men were pulled over in a traffic stop. Police searched Carter twice but have said they did not find a gun.

The reenactment video shows the officer being cuffed, then sitting in the back seat, retrieving a fake gun from his pants, and bringing the barrel to his right temple. The video also shows still photographs of other officers handcuffed in the backseat of a car, with the fake gun pressed to their temple.

Read more at CBS News.

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