Autopsy Shows Cops Shot Miriam Carey Five Times From Behind

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.