Victor White III: What We Know and What We Need to Know

Back on March 3rd of this year, Louisiana State Police issued a press release that alleged that Victor White III committed suicide in the backseat of a cruiser, after being transported to the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office for booking in an arrest over a minor drug offense. They claimed, among other things, that Mr. White was able to produce a previously undetected handgun and shoot himself in the back — all while remaining cuffed with his hands behind his back.

From the IND,

White’s story, the one given five months ago by law enforcement, ends right after his arrival at the sheriff’s office, when he’s said to have refused to exit the back seat of the deputy’s cruiser.

The deputy ran for help, and White, in a feat of human elasticity, is alleged to have pulled out a handgun that was somehow undetected during frisking, and with his hands still in cuffs behind his back, fired off a round into his back. White died shortly after, leaving the deputies on the scene as the only witnesses to the incident. The sheriff’s office maintains there are no surveillance cameras in that area of the parking lot.

Victor White III was arrested after being stopped and questioned in relation to a fight that took place at a convenience store he and a friend had just left. The pair were not involved in the fight.

From NBC News,

…[Prior to transport] Ortis [the arresting officer] performed a “consented pat-down” of White, according to the report, and “located suspected marijuana in front pants pocket.”

They told the officer, Lewis [friend of White III] said, that they could identify the men who were fighting. He said they offered to go to the convenience store with them, to talk to the clerk. “I said, ‘You can still probably catch them,” Lewis said. “You’re just burning time here. Victor said, ‘Why can’t you go back to the store and look at the camera?’ They said they didn’t have time for that.”

According to a public information officer for the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office, no one was ever apprehended for that alleged offense.

Lewis said that after finding the marijuana, the officer told them, “I’m going to let y’all go, that’s nothing.”

But after the officer ran the men’s names through a police database, he called for backup. As they waited, White and Lewis sat on the ground in front of the police cruiser, headlights cutting into the dark.

By the time a second officer in a separate cruiser arrived, Lewis said, White had been handcuffed behind his back, and placed in the back of the first car. The police report says White was detained and read his rights.

According to the report, a second search of White produced the cigars and a small amount of cocaine, and White said both the cocaine and marijuana were his. “White was then transported to the patrol center to be questioned by narcotics detectives,” the report concludes.

Flash forward a bit — or 5 long months for those seeking answers — and a coroner’s report was released contradicting this tale, stating that Mr. White, a 22-year-old black man, didn't shoot himself in the back as originally claimed by local authorities. Instead, based on examination, it was determined that the shot came from the front — and was a wound to the chest. The report maintained that it was a suicide.

Conveniently (for the narrative of the deputies), White was never tested for gunshot residue.

Also convenient: White, despite consenting to a pat down in the lead up to the arrest, and in addition to having willingly claimed ownership of the drugs in question, is alleged to have completely changed his behavior upon arrival at the sheriff’s office. He went from complying every step of the way to suddenly refusing to leave the cruiser.

M̶o̶s̶t̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶v̶e̶n̶i̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶a̶l̶l̶:̶ ̶T̶h̶e̶ ̶h̶a̶n̶d̶g̶u̶n̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶n̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶r̶e̶c̶o̶v̶e̶r̶e̶d̶.̶

This naturally raises questions of things we need to know.

1.) Since when do officers or deputies leave the scene to get help in person?

Is the CB radio/scanner inside the cruiser also conveniently missing? Did the deputy really have to physically remove himself from the situation? Considering that this took place in the parking lot of the sheriff’s office, couldn't he have honked the horn to gain attention and alert others?

And, if the claim is that he physically went inside to get help, are there internal videos corroborating this sequence of events? Or do they not have cameras inside the building either?

2.) Where is the lapel mic audio?

We know that they claim there isn't a camera in the prisoner transport bay. But what isn't being talked about, and what no one is bringing up, is the lapel mic audio? Does it exist? If so, where is it? This could shed invaluable, unbiased, light on the incident. This, of course, in addition to the dash cam footage that State Police are refusing to release due to “pending investigation.”

3.) Who are the deputies involved?

Even if we were to accept the story they have given, all deputies involved need to be fired. After all, due to their ineptitude a man is now dead. If they are unable to protect a person in their custody, especially one in the backseat of the cruiser *in the parking lot of the sheriff’s office, I, for one, have lost confidence in their ability to perform their jobs.

4̶.̶)̶ ̶W̶H̶E̶R̶E̶ ̶I̶S̶ ̶T̶H̶E̶ ̶H̶A̶N̶D̶G̶U̶N̶?̶

B̶e̶s̶i̶d̶e̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶o̶v̶e̶r̶a̶l̶l̶ ̶u̶n̶s̶e̶t̶t̶l̶i̶n̶g̶,̶ ̶p̶l̶o̶t̶-̶h̶o̶l̶e̶-̶r̶i̶d̶d̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶a̶l̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶n̶t̶s̶ ̶p̶r̶o̶d̶u̶c̶e̶d̶ ̶b̶y̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶a̶u̶t̶h̶o̶r̶i̶t̶i̶e̶s̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶f̶a̶c̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶g̶u̶n̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶r̶e̶c̶o̶v̶e̶r̶e̶d̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶t̶e̶l̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶i̶t̶s̶e̶l̶f̶.̶ ̶D̶i̶d̶ ̶i̶t̶ ̶j̶u̶s̶t̶ ̶g̶e̶t̶ ̶u̶p̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶w̶a̶l̶k̶ ̶a̶w̶a̶y̶?̶ ̶I̶t̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶b̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶n̶e̶a̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶c̶r̶u̶i̶s̶e̶r̶.̶ ̶I̶t̶ ̶s̶u̶r̶e̶l̶y̶ ̶d̶i̶d̶n̶’̶t̶ ̶d̶i̶s̶a̶p̶p̶e̶a̶r̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶i̶t̶s̶ ̶o̶w̶n̶.̶ ̶H̶o̶w̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶w̶e̶ ̶s̶u̶p̶p̶o̶s̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶r̶e̶c̶o̶n̶c̶i̶l̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶?̶

UPDATE:

The original article that claimed the handgun was never recovered is no longer available online. For those familiar with it, we attempted to find a snapshot of the page using the Wayback Machine. However, it would appear the site in question is able to block the web crawler.

Uncertainty over whether the weapon was recovered or not can still be viewed here and here.

The reason we are making this clarification is that we don’t want to continue with an unsure talking point — especially when there are those already trying to wash their hands of this situation and blanketly take up for law enforcement. We at TSG have reached out to local news groups to get clarification over whether or not the gun was indeed recovered. We will post a response once it is received.

In the meantime, the rest of our questions remain pertinent.