No alcohol or drugs in body of Daniel Turcios, man shot by Raleigh police, autopsy says
Daniel Turcios, the 43-year-old man shot and killed by a Raleigh police officer off Interstate 440 in January, did not have any alcohol or drugs in his system, according to an autopsy report released Friday.
The autopsy appears to support the account of Turcios’ wife and advocates, who have rebuffed suggestions that Turcios was intoxicated at the time of the wreck he and his family were involved in on I-440.
“Toxicological testing detected only caffeine and nicotine; no alcohol, drugs of abuse, or medications (base screen) were detected,” the autopsy states. The autopsy, which was conducted on Jan. 18, a week after the shooting, did not find any significant natural diseases, either.
Turcios’ cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds, the autopsy states. He was shot five times, it states.
Multiple officers responded to the wreck involving at least two vehicles on the afternoon of Jan. 11, where they found Turcios, his two sons, and his wife. Body camera footage released by the city showed that while officers were interviewing witnesses, Turcios pulled out a knife and did not respond to repeated commands by police to drop it.
When Turcios tried to walk away from officers with the knife in his hand, Sgt. W. B. Tapscott tasered Turcios in the back, causing him to fall to the ground. According to the autopsy, Turcios was struck by the taser twice, not just once (the autopsy found two impact sites on his left upper back).
A group of officers then surrounded Turcios in an effort to detain him when Turcios sprang to his feet, turned around, and lunged at an officer with the knife, prompting Officer A. A. Smith to fire at Turcios twice, The News & Observer previously reported.
The footage then shows Turcios trying to get up once more, at which point Smith fires three more shots at him.
According to the autopsy, Turcios suffered five gunshot wounds from a 9-mm handgun. He had wounds to his chest, torso and right thigh, the autopsy found.
Several of the bullets that entered Turcios’ body perforated or penetrated multiple organs, the report states.
RPD should apologize to family, activist says
During a news conference on the evening of Jan. 11, Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson said that 911 calls indicated that a person involved in the crash was intoxicated.
Eight days later, in a report summarizing its preliminary investigation of the shooting, the Raleigh Police Department said a 911 caller had said the driver of an overturned vehicle at the scene “appeared to be intoxicated.”
In light of the autopsy report, Raleigh police should publicly apologize to Turcios’ family — who repeatedly said he was not inebriated at the time of the crash, said Kerwin Pittman, an activist with Emancipate NC.
“Essentially they put out this narrative that he was possibly intoxicated, which wasn’t true,” Pittman told The News & Observer in an interview. “So they should come out and apologize for the torment that this caused his family, who knew, who was with Mr. Turcios when the incident happened, and when he met his demise.”
Pittman also called on Patterson to “come out in full transparency and accountability” and publicly respond to the autopsy’s findings that there was no alcohol or other substances in Turcios’ body.
The notion that Turcios was possibly intoxicated being mentioned by police prior to the results of the toxicology test being released meant that Turcios was treated like “a villain” when he was “a victim of an accident,” Pittman said.
Pittman also raised the possibility of a language barrier, an idea that activists have suggested before. Turcios is from El Salvador.
“Clearly this was a man who did not understand English, and clearly Raleigh Police Department officers could not effectively communicate with this person who was having a crisis, to really de-escalate the situation,” Pittman said.
Activists to push for more police training
Emancipate NC leaders and Turcios’ family have said police should have acted with more restraint.
During a protest last month, Turcios’ wife, Rosa Jerez, said officers should have shot Turcios in his hand or in his feet. (Two former law enforcement officials with expertise in police use of force told The N&O that Smith’s decision to shoot Turcios when he swung the knife at another officer was reasonable.)
“If he committed (a crime), he had to pay for it,” Jerez said, surrounded by a crowd of nearly 100 people who showed up to march for her husband. “That’s what jail is there for. Why take his life? The father of a family?”
At the rally, activists and family members repeated calls for Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman to file criminal charges against both Smith and Tapscott. Freeman isn’t expected to make a decision on potential charges until the State Bureau of Investigation completes its investigation into the shooting, which is standard protocol when an officer shoots someone.
In the meantime, Pittman said, Emancipate plans to push for more police training, particularly in dealing with members of the community for whom there may be a language barrier.
“We cannot wait for somebody else to die at the hands of the Raleigh Police Department due solely to the fact that they cannot speak English,” he said.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREThis is a breaking news story
In a breaking news situation, facts may be unclear and details may change as the story develops. Our reporters are working to get information as quickly and accurately as possible. This story may be updated as more information becomes available. Refresh this page for the most up-to-date report.
This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 12:22 PM.
