Patrol car shooting leaves questions

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Hours after police released an autopsy report that ruled the shooting death of a young man in the back of a patrol car a suicide, dozens of the man's supporters and relatives gathered Monday night in Memphis for a candlelight vigil.

The report from the Arkansas state crime lab says Chavis Carter, 21, tested positive for methamphetamine, anti-anxiety medication and other drugs. It ruled his death a suicide and says the muzzle of a handgun he apparently concealed from arresting officers was placed against his right temple when it was fired.

"How (did) he shoot himself in his right temple and he (was) left-handed? In handcuffs?" one of his friends, Bianca Tipton, asked.

The state crime lab report didn't answer that question.

Instead, the report says Carter's death was ruled a suicide based on autopsy findings and investigative conclusions from the Jonesboro Police Department, which has faced questions about the circumstances surrounding the July 28 death.