Update on Cops Gone Wild: Manslaughter Edition

Here’s an update on the investigation into the death of a man who was hit by a cop car and dragged for over half a mile before the cop allegedly noticed it:

The body has been taken to the Franklin County Coroner’s office in Columbus for an autopsy. The autopsy is set for 8 a.m. today. Capt. Chris Bowman of the Ironton Police Department has asked to be there for the autopsy.

Lawrence County Coroner Burton Payne said there were was no obvious cause of death. “There were some bruises and burns,” he said. “We hope to get a preliminary report later this week.”

I think the obvious cause of death is being hit by the cop and then dragged underneath the cruiser for half a mile. But, that’s me, and I tend to play Master of the Painfully Obvious whenever possible.

“We don’t know why he was in the roadway,” Carey said. Authorities also don’t know if Thomas was standing or lying in the road when he was caught under the cruiser, he said.

When in doubt, always blame the victim. Argh.

The latest theory by the Ironton Police Department seems to be that Mr. Guy Thomas was dead before the cruiser hit him.

How convenient is that theory?

If Mr. Thomas was dead before the cruiser hit him, after being seen alive only moments before, that would be an incredible, almost unbelievable, coincidence. One would have to believe that a 46-year-old man simply fell dead in the middle of the road, was hit by a cop car (without the cop realizing he had hit something as big as an adult male) and then dragged over a half mile - all the way to the police station - by the cop, before the cop noticed he had hit anything.

I don’t believe that. I don’t believe any of that. I don’t believe he was already dead, and I don’t believe that the cop didn’t know he had hit something, and I don’t believe that the cop didn’t realize he was dragging something with his cruiser. I just don’t believe it, because the entire scenario beggars belief.

I’ll tell you what I do believe. I believe the cop knew he hit someone, freaked out, and was trying to avoid responsibility. I believe that he kept driving in the hope that the body would disengage from his cruiser and he could thus blame it on someone else, yet another unsolved hit and run crime.

I’ll update the blog, as I get more information.

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Source: Herald-Dispatch

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UPDATE 3/12: WSAZ.com updates the case as follows:

The Lawrence County, OH Coroner says preliminary autopsy results are inconclusive on the cause of death of an Ironton man.

46-year old Guy Thomas was found dead underneath an Ironton, OH police cruiser Saturday night. The autopsy was performed in Columbus, Oh on Tuesday.

Burton Payne told wasz.com that those results show there were no injuries consistent with an impact by the cruiser or by getting run over by a tire.

Payne also says there were burns on the body from the cruiser exhaust, and abrasions from the body being dragged.

The coroner says Mr. Thomas’ family told him the victim had a history of seizures.

Payne says results still are inconclusive to determine if Mr. Thomas was dead or alive when he came in contact with the cruiser.

He says there is some evidence that the burns on Mr. Thomas’ body happened after he was dead.

Payne says lab results and blood tests regarding any possibility of any intoxicants in Mr. Thomas’ body are still pending.

Also released today, a report from the Ohio Highway Patrol on their inspection of the police cruiser immediately following the accident.

Trooper John Canter wrote in that report that after he and other officers inspected the Ironton police cruiser they found “no visible damage to it. This included the front, both sides and rear. We found the dirt on the sides and rear of the vehicle didn’t appear to be disturbed. It was also found that the snow, ice and dirt on the front of the cruiser was not disturbed.”

During the inspection, officers also found “a small blue fiber attached to the underside of the push bumper, attached to the front bumper.” They said the fiber was on the right side of that push bumper.

Canter ended the report by saying that after he and other investigators discussed the lack of damage, they concurred the “pedestrian must have been down on the roadway and not standing or in a kneeling position when struck.”