Autopsy Shows Cops Shot Miriam Carey Five Times From Behind

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Six months ago, Capitol police shot and killed Miriam Carey after the mother, accompanied by her one-year-old daughter, allegedly tried to ram a checkpoint at the White House before speeding off and leading cops on a chase toward the Capitol building. Reports of shots fired on Capitol Hill resulted in media coverage focusing on a potential shooting in the nation's capital. A photo of an officer being loaded into a helicopter was captioned by the Associated Press as a "victim from a shooting." The photo was actually of a Capitol police officer being medevac'd after crashing into a barricade while chasing Carey. Carey was the only victim of a shooting on October 3, 2013.

Initial reports indicated police fired at Carey's vehicle five to ten times. An autopsy now reveals she was hit five times, all from behind. Via CNN:

The office of the District of Columbia medical examiner said in the autopsy that one round struck Carey in the left side of the back of her head, and she was also hit three times in the back and once in her left arm. The report didn't determine in what sequence Carey was hit.

Toxicology tests determined Carey didn't have alcohol or drugs in her blood.

Her family has questioned since the day of the incident whether shooting Carey was the only way to end the chase, which went through the heart of the nation's capital.

[Family attorney Eric] Sanders said on Tuesday that Carey's family members still feel police should have considered other options. The autopsy only "confirms what we said. It was unjustified."

Carey's sister filed a $75 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Secret Service and the Capitol Police earlier this year.

Court documents related to the killing of Carey largely remain sealed. According to a public information officer with the Capitol Police, the shooting remains under investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C.

Comments

[WTF]

Failure to obey is grounds for death.

[sloopyinca]

Possibly ramming your car into a group of people could be, although there's no proof of her motive for leaving the (illegal) traffic stop in the first place.

[R C Dean]

I'm having a hard time picturing a situation where cops could shoot up a car that was an imminent risk of ramming a group of people without putting those very same people at risk of getting shot.

[Fist of Etiquette]

Adrenaline, it's a hell of a drug.

[Hugh Akston]

Look Eddie, you may not know this, but there are some Very Important People in Washington DC. Shoot-a-whacked-out-driver-five-times-in-the-back Important. Any suggestion that the authoritahs in question overreacted or tried to cover up their blatant incompetence is unpatriotic bordering on seditious.

[Libertarian]

Important, yes. Irreplaceable? No. Have you not heard of special elections?

[Brandon]

She was acting strangely within a few miles of where the President might have been. Capital offense.

[R C Dean]

Yet, oddly, any number of Congresscritters remain unshot.

[Anonymous Coward]

She put those brave public heroes in fear for their lives. The thought they might not see their families again (or get another hour of overtime) spurred to make the split-second, life-or-death decision to shoot this crazy woman in the back while she had her child in backseat of the car.

[Mr. Soul]

this is why Andy only gave Barney one bullet.

[Ted S.]

[Family attorney Eric] Sanders said on Tuesday that Carey's family members still feel police should have considered other options.

They could have shot bean bags at her.

[Mad Scientist]

My suspicion is a single hysterical cop said something on the radio that caused the rest of the pack to also start barking at the unseen threat. Escalation ensued.

[tarran]

Your suspicion is correct.

One of the cops ran into a barricade as it was being raised.

He got hurt.

His comrades radioed officer down.

The rest of the apes assumed she had shot someone.

And so the apes killed her. They might even have been given medals afterwards.

AND NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED!

[Mad Scientist]

Well, it's certainly a good thing police are trained to de-escalate situations exactly like this, instead of encouraging them to get completely out of hand.

[tarran]

Often, when a cop gets killed or hurt, the rest of the cops riot.

It's like a troop of chimpanzees going on a wilding rampage, biting and clubbing everything that gets in their way.

[swillfredo pareto]

It's like a troop of chimpanzees going on a wilding rampage

Hey, you know who I saw wilding today? Herb!

[CE]

At least they (unnecessarily) shot up the right car. In LA they just shoot any vehicle somewhat close to the description.

[gimmeasammich]

*static static static* SUSPECT IS BLACK *static static static*

Something like that?

[Episiarch]

My suspicion is that the scum who become cops are so used to people obeying them and so unused to actual moments of danger and are so badly trained that when anything becomes unusual they just go right to 11. And for them, 11 is "empty your mag into it".

They're clowns. They're fucking clowns with guns and a license to kill.

[gimmeasammich]

I thought "empty your mag" started somewhere closer to 5?

[CE]

A car driving away from you is not dangerous.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Do these idiots think they're in combat zones?

[sloopyinca]

Why do you not want these officers to go home safe at night? Do you hate their children?

[politicsbyothermeans]

Actually, if someone did that over here they would almost certainly be in very very deep shit. People have gone to Leavenworth for far less. Of course, they've gotten away with far worse too.

[R C Dean]

the shooting remains under investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department of Washington, D.C.

The investigation should take a month, tops. That's plenty of time to do the autopsy, run the ballistics, interview every officer involved, and interview normal eyewitnesses. I can't imagine what they've spent six months doing.

[CE]

How do you investigate yourself?

[politicsbyothermeans]

Eric Holder seems to be pretty good at it.

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

Letting memories fade. Letting attention be drawn elsewhere.

[gaoxiaen]

In Mississippi, one coroner can do five per day.

[XM]

Why aren't the usual suspects (Sharpton, Jackson) making a racial incident out of this?

Trayvon was a troubled high school kid who pummeled a man onto the pavement. This poor woman was mentally ill and had a one year old child in the car.

She was a threat to the president. Is that it?

[Libertarian]

Damn good question.

[sloopyinca]

Just in case you wondered what cops themselves were saying about it.

[LiveFreeOrDiet]

and refer to us as civilians.

"Not belonging; nonprofessional; outsider."
IOW second class.

[sloopyinca]

Posted by randy646 on Tuesday, April 08, 2014 09:34 AM Pacific Report Abuse
@ The militarization of Law Enforcement continues.......

Police and the military have been together for over hundred years, from weapons to uniforms. Even Andy Taylor had a rifle in Mayberry.

An armored vehicle is an advantage for the cops, the good guys. Our department has a humvee for helping people during floods, snow storms and dangerous field searches. I should know it was my idea. We also have rifles our department would of spent the money on due to cost. Our rural area is over an hour area for a ERT/SWAT response and good luck getting help in a disaster if an entire area is affected.

Andy Taylor had a rifle...that probably every man or boy in Mayberry over 12 also had.

[CE]

Imagine, there are still rural towns in America where there is no SWAT team within 60 minutes!