Civil suit in death rejected by judge

Man shot himself in police custody

JONESBORO — Jonesboro police officers did not violate the rights of a Mississippi man who fatally shot himself in a patrol car in 2012 by failing to properly search the man before arresting him, a U.S. district judge ruled Wednesday.

Judge Kristine G. Baker dismissed a civil lawsuit against the Jonesboro Police Department, its former chief and two officers filed by Teresa Rudd, the mother of Chavis Carter, 21, of Southaven, Miss. Rudd filed the wrongful death lawsuit in 2013, claiming officers Keith Baggett and Ronald Marsh were not trained properly and did not find a handgun hidden in Carter’s clothing.

Police arrested Carter on Haltom Street east of downtown on the night of July 28, 2012, after officers saw a pickup driving in the area with its lights off.

Marsh conducted a “terry frisk,” or basic weapons search, and handcuffed Carter and placed him in the back of his patrol car. As Marsh and Baggett questioned two others who were in the pickup, Carter shot himself in the right temple with a .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun.

The state Crime Lab in Little Rock ruled the shooting a suicide.

Carter’s death sparked an angry debate between the Police Department and black leaders. The Rev. Jesse Jackson led a march of about 300 people to protest the department’s investigation. Friends of Carter said he was left-handed and could not shoot himself while handcuffed and suggested that police killed Carter.

In her ruling Wednesday, Baker said Rudd’s claims that her son was detained improperly and officers conducted a “negligent search” were unfounded.

“The Court is not aware of any authority establishing that a negligent or insufficient search conducted by an officer violates a suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights,” Baker wrote in her ruling. “While courts have found that the Fourth Amendment was violated in cases where excessive force was used or the manner of the search resulted in the wanton destruction of property, there is no authority known to the Court supporting Ms. Rudd’s ‘negligent search’ theory.”

Darrell O’Neal, an attorney from Memphis who represented Rudd, said he was disappointed by Baker’s ruling.

“This isn’t rocket science,” he said. “You file lawsuits to win. You always want your day in court.

“Yes, I’m disappointed. I really don’t have any other comment. I need time to digest this.”

He said Rudd has not indicated whether she wants to appeal Baker’s decision.

C. Burt Newell, an attorney from Little Rock who represented the city of Jonesboro, did not return telephone messages Wednesday.

Michael Yates, the Jonesboro police chief at the time of Carter’s shooting, resigned in 2014 after he clashed with a local newspaper reporter on social media.

Police Chief Rick Elliott did not return a telephone message Wednesday evening.