“My son didn’t shoot himself. I never believed it. I won’t believe it,” said Victor White, Sr., the father of 22-year-old Victor White, III, who back in March, died from a gunshot wound.
It happened while handcuffed in the backseat of an Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office patrol car, during a drug arrest. According to State Police, who are handling the investigation, once at the jail, White refused to exit the vehicle. As the arresting deputy requested assistance, they say white produced a handgun he had been hiding in his pants, and shot himself in the back.
But the autopsy, performed by the Iberia Parish Coroner’s Office, reports the opposite, listing the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the chest. The family is puzzled as to how he could have shot himself in the chest with his hands cuffed behind his back.
“My initial response was correct, that something was awry, and that something had gone wrong,” said White, Sr.
The manner of death was ruled a suicide. But, the family of White aren’t convinced.
State Police cannot comment, saying it’s an ongoing investigation. White, Sr. says authorities aren’t even talking to the family, leaving them without closure.
“Here is a family that, we are still grieving,” said White, Sr. “I’m angry the autopsy report took so long. I’m angry and frustrated with the fact that it’s still not over.”
