WARNING: GRAPHIC (boy swag) Guy Shoots - TopicsExpress

WARNING: GRAPHIC (boy swag) Guy Shoots Himself boyswaqq/web/?p=377 Cerna, an immigrant from Guatemala, was stopped by Sheriffs Deputy Michael Parham for a traffic violation on December 19, 2003. He tried to escape in his car and then later on foot. During the pursuit, he shot Deputy Parham twice in the abdomen, non-fatally. Cerna was arrested shortly afterwards. Three agencies had been involved in the chase (the San Bernardino Police, the county sheriff, and the California Highway Patrol). During the apprehension and hand-over, no one made sure he was properly searched. Cerna shot himself in the side of the head at point-blank range with a .45-caliber handgun that he had hidden in the front of his pants. The entire incident was recorded on the surveillance camera in the interrogation room. Although he died instantly, the damage from the bullet to the inside of his head caused blood to pour rapidly out of the wound, his mouth, and his right ear for the remainder of the video (nearly 30 seconds). The sound is clearly audible on the tape, especially after Cernas head rolls over to his left. The Sheriffs Department showed the security camera footage to the media by the following day. To avoid public sensationalism, only a handful of reporters were permitted to see it. The footage was never intended to be made public, but evidently it has been illicitly leaked. Certain political activists representing the Latino community expressed outrage, claiming Cernas death to have been murder rather than suicide, with the deputies as the perpetrators. La Voz de Aztlan and other groups believe that, apparently, deputies gave the suspect (who had already allegedly shot one officer) a loaded handgun for the purpose of killing himself