Man killed by police officer in Duke ER was shot 3 times, autopsy shows
A man killed by a police officer in the Duke University Hospital emergency room in January was shot three times, with one bullet entering his abdomen and damaging his heart, according to autopsy results.
Raishawn Jones, 38, was in policy custody when an altercation occurred in the ER and a Duke police officer shot him in the mid-back, mid to lower back and upper abdomen, the latter injuring the heart and other organs. The autopsy could not determine the order of the shots.
The autopsy results from the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner were first reported by The Chronicle, the Duke student newspaper.
Jones had nicotine and at least 0.57 milligrams of Phencyclidine, commonly known as PCP or angel dust, in his body at the time of his death, a toxicology report shows. The illegal drug can cause hallucinations, distort the senses and cause violent behavior.
Jones was arrested by Durham police that night for “erratic driving” and was taken to the hospital for a medical evaluation, the medical report says.
Police did not initially release his name or other details about the arrest, citing Duke’s HIPAA patient privacy rules.
While Jones was being evaluated, he asked to use the bathroom and had his handcuffs removed, the autopsy report states. He grabbed the officer’s gun and fired multiple shots, according to transcripts of 911 calls requested by The News & Observer.
A Duke police officer who arrived to help fatally shot Jones, The N&O reported previously.
Jones had been arrested while trying to elude police after crashing into a car in Durham earlier that day and then crashing into the wall of a restaurant, reported ABC11, The N&O’s media partner.
ABC11 first reported Jones’ identity and what led to his initial arrest.
Jones’ family told ABC11 they believe he was “on something” when he crashed into a car off N.C. 55 at a Walgreens.
The report from the Chief Medical Examiner states Jones was acting “strangely and irrationally” when police arrested him.
Duke emergency room shooting
Transcripts of two 911 calls previously released by police describe the scene at the emergency room.
The calls, made just after 11:30 p.m., indicate Jones grabbed the Durham officer’s gun and fired multiple shots — a woman tells the dispatcher she has a patient in the emergency room when “2 loud bangs” are heard.
“God. He has a gun,” the woman says, before another “loud bang” is heard, the transcript states.
She later tells the dispatcher that “a patient just fired his weapon.”
“We have a patient that took a gun from a cop, and he’s shooting,” another caller said just seconds later.
The Duke officer said he fired when Jones pointed the gun at the Durham officer, according to Michael Schoenfeld, a Duke spokesperson.
Both the Durham and Duke officers were wearing body cameras during the shooting, but Durham police do not plan to seek release of the footage, Lt. Randall Packard previously told The N&O.
The Duke officer is on paid administrative leave, in accordance with the Duke University Police Department’s use of force policy, which authorizes officers to use lethal force in certain situations.
The policy requires officers involved in use-of-force incidents involving serious injury or death to be placed on administrative leave with pay until they’re cleared to return to duty.
The case is being reviewed by the State Bureau of Investigation.
This story was originally published May 16, 2022 at 1:41 PM.
