A report released last week by the Maricopa County coroner’s office proves that one of the officers involved in evicting Marcus Mungeam from his home in June ultimately shot him in the neck. increase.
They initially said the victim shot him in the head, but the office’s report points to the obvious omission that they also shot him.
It is still unclear which bullet killed Mungeam, a 33-year-old man who lived in an apartment complex in Arcadia, according to the coroner’s report.
Last June, Mungeam received eviction papers at his Arcadia home from three officers: Douglas Clark, Steve Perkins, and Carolyn Lane. State law stipulates that constables are only used during the eviction process. Police are to be called if tenants remain at the scene after that.
However, Clarke and Perkins returned four days later and broke in through the back glass door of Mungam’s apartment. According to investigative documents leaked to the Republic, Clark said they shouldn’t have entered the apartment, but they did anyway, when Mungeam shot his first round.
The two constables later told investigators that only Mungeam shot him in the head as he turned the corner to confront him.
However, county medical records tell a slightly different story, primarily that Marcus was also shot by the constable.
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Photographs taken from private investigators and friends, as well as investigative documents, revealed that at least one of the constables fired multiple bullets, but no one admitted that the bullets hit Mungeam. Neither was there.
Mungeam was shot once in the neck and also in the head, according to the examiner’s report released Wednesday. According to reports, the gunshot wounds were from two different guns, one from the constable and the other from his Mungeam.
It is not known which bullet wound entered the body first. However, it says that the head shot was not a direct shot to the temple, but rather an angle that entered the temple and exited through the top of Mungeam’s skull.
Initially, the coroner considered Mungeram’s death a homicide. That changed later.
“Because both gunshot wounds are potentially fatal, the cause of death is best considered unknown,” County Coroner Caroline Cross said in the report.
The examiner’s report also didn’t mention which constable fired the weapon, but records obtained by the Republic indicate that Perkins had undergone a psychiatric evaluation and training in the new firearms since August. , returned to work.
Clark returned to work almost immediately, however, without permission from a mental health professional, according to rules drawn up by the Constable Ethics, Standards and Training Committee.
Since the shooting, Lane has resigned from his position as a constable in the Arcadia Judiciary District, and Clarke has submitted his resignation after the board of directors almost unanimously called for him to be put on 30-day probation.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has assigned the case to the Major Crimes Division, but it’s not clear if the charges will be brought to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, according to sources within the bureau.
The Ethics Commission, which oversees state constables, also has two pending investigations into Clark. Mungeam’s death and another use of force when he pulled out a weapon and held a resident at gunpoint during an eviction. At the last board meeting, it was unclear whether they would refer the investigation to a law firm.
As of last week, Maricopa County Attorney’s Office spokesperson Jennifer Lewer said she had not received any referrals regarding either case. I mean
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