2012 Drug War Killings

A Southhaven, Mississippi, man arrested for marijuana by police in nearby Jonesboro, Arkansas, was shot and killed as he sat handcuffed in the back of a squad car Saturday. Chavis Carter, 21, becomes the 37th person to die in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.

According to KAIT-8 TV, citing police sources, Carter was a passenger in a pick-up truck pulled over by police Saturday night. Officer Keith Baggett searched the vehicle, while Officer Ron Marsh searched Carter. Marsh found "some marijuana" and some plastic baggies on Carter. When police ran Carter's name through dispatch, they learned he was wanted on a drug warrant from De Soto County, Mississippi.

Carter was sitting in the police car, and when police learned he had an outstanding warrant, Marsh had Carter "exit the patrol unit, placed him into handcuffs, searched him a second time then placed him into the back seat of the patrol unit."

As the two officers walked back toward the police car, Officer Baggett said a car passed and then he heard "a loud thump with a metallic sound." After questioning and releasing the other two men, Officer Marsh reportedly returned to his vehicle while Officer Baggett said he prepared to leave the scene. He then heard "several thumps" on his trunk and saw Officer Marsh motioning for him and saying that Carter had shot himself.

They opened the rear passenger door and found him in a "sitting position slumped forward with his head in his lap." According to Officer Marsh, Carter's hands were still cuffed behind his back and small-caliber handgun was found beside him.

Jonesboro Police Sgt. Lyle Waterworth told WREG-TV in nearby Memphis that Carter had been searched, but that searches don't always find everything. "As protocol he was handcuffed behind his back and double locked, and searched”, said Waterworth, "Any given officer has missed something on a search, be it drugs, knife, razor blades, this instance it happened to be a gun."

Officers Baggett and Marsh are on administrative leave pending an investigation, but the police are leaning toward the theory that Carter shot himself with a gun they had missed while his hands were cuffed behind his back.

His mother, Teresa Carter, isn't buying it. "I think they killed him, my son wasn't suicidal," she said.

She said Chavis had called his girlfriend while being pulled over to say that he would call her from jail. She also said police told her Chavis had been shot in the right temple, but that he was left-handed.

At least five people have been killed in the drug war on America's streets in the past few weeks. They become the 30th through the 34th persons to die in US domestic drug law operations so far this year.

While we try to publish these stories in a timely fashion, it doesn't always work out that way because initial news or police accounts fail to provide adequate detail. In the two cases below from May, for example, the drug war link became apparent only with the release of a toxicology report in one instance and the release of court documents in the other.

In Sonora, California, James Jones died in police custody on May 3 after swallowing an eight-ball (3.5 grams) of methamphetamine while being searched at the Toulomne County Jail upon being arrested for outstanding warrants. When Jones was taken to the jail, deputies found a glass pipe, prompting them to strip-search him. They observed a white object in his mouth, but when they told him to spit it out, he swallowed it instead. He was then rushed to the hospital, but died of the methamphetamine overdose. A toxicology report released last week showed he had about 16 times the potential fatal level of meth in his system.

In Miami, Sergio Javier Azcuy was shot and killed on May 17 by Miami-Dade police who had set up a fake cocaine rip-off, then staged a traffic accident to corral the vehicle in which he was traveling. Azcuy, 46, was the passenger in the vehicle stopped by the Miami-Dade Special Response Team, and police shot and killed him when he reached for a "dark shiny object." Police found a cell phone in his hand. Records did not indicate whether he was armed, meaning that he wasn't. The same Miami-Dade robbery unit killed four men in another fake cocaine rip-off last year and two more in a similar set-up in 2007.

In Dallas, Kendrick McDaniel was shot and killed June 24 by an off-duty Dallas police officer during a confrontation at a local Taco Bell. Officer Courtney Howard entered the restaurant and saw McDaniel, 18, and two other teens sitting there. Howard noticed McDaniel had a marijuana cigarette behind one ear, and approached the teens. According to police, McDaniel got angry and starting cursing at Howard. Howard then pulled his weapon, and McDaniel started to run, fell, and then pulled a gun from his waistband. Howard then shot him. He died shortly thereafter at a local hospital. McDaniel's sister, Cedrickia, said she doubted the police version of events, adding that she didn't think her brother would pull a gun on an officer. The killing will go before a grand jury.

In Atlanta, Christopher Calhoun was shot and killed by Atlanta police last Wednesday as they attempted to arrest him on a fugitive warrant for drug and auto theft charges from Mississippi. Police got a tip Calhoun, 38, was in a vehicle at a local shopping mall, and shot and killed him when he didn't surrender peacefully. There was little detail beyond that, except one witness said police pulled up in several vehicles, jumped out of their cars, and yelled "Freeze!" before opening fire. The killing is being reviewed by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

In North Fort Myers, Florida, Carlos Joseph Charles was shot and killed last Thursday by a Lee County sheriff's deputy after the vehicle he was driving was pulled over by the sheriff's Highway Interdiction Unit. Charles, 28, was driving with a woman and a four-year-old child when deputies stopped his vehicle. All three were ordered out of the vehicle when a drug dog alerted on it. When deputies found "a large amount" of cocaine, a "violent altercation" ensued and Charles was fatally wounded. The unnamed deputy was reportedly injured, but was quickly released from the hospital. Charles had been sentenced to two years in state prison on cocaine charges in 2008.

A New York City police officer has been indicted on manslaughter charges in the Bronx shooting death of 18-year-old Ramarley Graham. Graham, a young black man, was shot and killed in the bathroom of his own home after a team of NYPD narcotics officers followed him home, broke in, and confronted him.

When he was killed in February, Graham was the eighth person to die in drug law enforcement activities so far this year. That number is now up to 28. The indictment of NYPD Officer Richard Haste is the first of any officer in any of those deaths.

Although the indictment has not been officially unsealed, the New York Times reported that a grand jury has indicted Haste, 30, on charges of first- and second-degree manslaughter. More charges could be pending.

Graham was shot and killed after he and a pair of friends caught the attention of narcotics officers who had staked out a bodega on White Plains Road. They radioed their colleagues and said they believed he had a gun in his waistband as he walked toward his home. Officer Haste dashed to the scene, broke into Graham's apartment, and shot and killed him in his bathroom.

No weapon was found, but police did say they found marijuana in a plastic baggie in the toilet bowl, suggesting Graham may have been trying to get rid of the evidence to avoid becoming another New York City pot bust statistic.

The shooting has provoked anger in the community and led to numerous calls for justice for Graham and other victims of overzealous policing in the city. It has also focused attention on the aggressive tactics of the NYPD's Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit, teams of officers who surreptitiously surveil the streets looking for drug deals before bursting in to bust dealers and customers.

The Graham shooting has focused attention on the aggressive tactics of the Police Department’s Street Narcotics Enforcement Units -- teams of six or seven officers who hide on rooftops or in parked cars as they scan the streetscape for drug transactions before swooping in to arrest dealers and customers. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly ordered a review of the units' tactics, but the results of that review have not been released.

The last time NYPD officers were indicted for killing a resident was when three of them riddled Sean Bell's body with bullets as he attended his pre-wedding party in 2007. Those officers were eventually found not guilty.

A convicted meth offender facing new charges was shot and killed by Oregon deputies late Saturday after he tried to escape in his pick-up truck and rammed a patrol car. Walter Phillips, 46, of Cave Junction becomes the 27th person to die in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.

Phillips had been convicted of methamphetamine possession in 2011 and was set to appear in court May 7 on new meth and marijuana trafficking charges. He also had an outstanding warrant for driving without a license.

According to the Josephine County Sheriff's Office, deputies attempted to pull over Phillips' truck Saturday night in Cave Junction, but he sped off when deputies turned on their lights. He then pulled off the highway and skidded to a stop before shifting into reverse and hitting the patrol car.

The two officers, Deputy Robert Baker and Reserve Deputy Mike Holguin, then opened fire "to try to stop him," the office said.

Phillips was airlifted to a hospital in Medford, where he was pronounced dead. The deputies did not require medical attention.

The sheriff's office has not released details on any evidence found in the pick-up truck or provided any motive for why Phillips fled.

His death is being investigated by the Oregon State Police, with assistance from Grants Pass Public Safety detectives, Josephine County Sheriff's Office, and the Josephine County District Attorney's Office.