Police are investigating how a man handcuffed in a police car for alleged marijuana possession wound up with a fatal bullet wound to the head.
Chavis Carter, 21 of Southaven, Miss., was being held in the back of police car Saturday night after police said they found marijuana and several plastic baggies on him during a traffic stop, ABC affiliate KAIT8 reported earlier this week.
Police reported hearing an unidentified noise from the back of the car. When they went to investigate police said they found Carter bloody with a gun lying nearby, ABC 24 reported Tuesday.
Police, who swear they searched Carter twice before restraining him in the back of the car, are claiming Carter committed suicide.
Officers say Carter was handcuffed behind his back.
But his family doesn't buy it.
"I don't believe this was an accident. I know my son. He's not suicidal. He wouldn't have taken his own life," Carter's dad Charles Douglas told ABC 24. "Under the circumstances they say this happened it's impossible."
The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated.
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