Autopsy reports released in deadly Tucson SWAT shooting

Arizona Daily Star ^ | 6/6/2011 | Fernanda Echavarri

[petitfour]

The 26-year-old man shot and killed by a SWAT team during a raid last month was struck 22 times and a toxicology exam showed there were no traces of drugs in his blood at the time of death, according to an autopsy report released Monday.

SWAT officers fired 71 rounds at Jose Guerena from the doorway of his home while serving a search warrant the morning of May 5, officials from Pima County Sheriff’s Department have said. Less than a third of those shots hit Guerena, leaving some 49 rounds passing through walls and some hitting nearby homes, according to reports released by the department last week.

Guerena’s toxicology report showed there were no traces of drugs and only a low level of ethanol — 0.02 percent — some or all of which may have been produced after his death, a medical examiner from the Pima County Medical Examine’s Office wrote.

The report showed most of Guerena’s gunshot wounds were to his legs and arms. He was struck three times on his torso and grazed by a bullet on the head, according to the autopsy report.

[spodefly]

Medical members of the SWAT team did not render aid to Guerena, and a medical team from Drexel Heights fire was told to hold off for more than an hour, documents show.

MURDER.

[Oztrich Boy]

22 holes in the body, exsanguination means they all contribute to the fatality.

[petitfour]

No major arteries were hit.

[Fido969]

Does mostly legs and arms make it seem like he may have been crouching? Any clue as to the trajectory of the bullets through the body?

[magslinger]

Ouch! That’s harsh!

[Still Thinking]

Does mostly legs and arms make it seem like he may have been crouching? Any clue as to the trajectory of the bullets through the body?

Maybe. Or maybe symptomatic of mostly undirected fire. Imagine a shotgun blast 10 feet in diameter where every pellet is a .223 Rem. Be interesting to learn if the wounds were predominantly on one side of the body far more than the other (i.e. the shotgun blast wasn't well centered on Guerena).

[petitfour]

KGUN9 updated their story. The med examiner clarified that there were two wounds in particular that were most likely the cause(s) of death. “One bullet entered the left thigh and traveled into the abdomen, where it lacerated a kidney and penetrated an artery. Equally serious was the bullet that entered the abdomen, which then traveled through the spleen and into the left lung, causing massive blood loss.”-—KGUN9 Forrest Carr

[petitfour]

This other story might give you a better idea of the wounds. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2730771/posts

[Still Thinking]

From the thigh into the abdomen? Sounds like he was already down when that round hit him, he was flying the the air feet first, or SWAT is armed with magic bullets like the one that killed John Connally. Could be a ricochet, but if so I’d think it’d lack sufficient energy to transit through the guy’s entire body. Nevertheless, I’m not a forensic guy.

[devistate one four]

I hope the family of this brave Marine sues the state for all they have!

[Brad from Tennessee]

[Approximately an hour after the shooting, the SWAT team doctor pronounced Guerena dead at the scene based on video images from the robots. . .]

The whole “SWAT” team rushed into the apartment, shot Guerena, then apparently fled back outside and sent in robots. In an earlier story the PIMA sheriff's spokesman admitted one guy tripped on his Plexiglas shield, fell backwards and his weapon—apparently unlocked—discharged accidentally. This likely caused the others to fire their weapons. A federal attorney and grand jury should be grilling these people under oath right now.

[B4Ranch]

>>The whole “SWAT” team rushed into the apartment,<<

That’s not what the video showed. A couple of men went in, the leader (stubbed his foot) fell to his knees and then the shooting started. It continued for a minute then they withdrew.

[petitfour]

Maybe I’m crazy and blind, but it appears the Arizona Daily Star has buried this story. I don’t see it on their front page any more.

[Brad from Tennessee]

Thanks for the clarification. I’ll look at the tape.

[Fido969]

One thing you need to remember is that the SWAT members were WRONG about Gurena opening fire. THEIR OBSERVATIONS AREN'T ANY GOOD. You can discount "he pointed the weapon at them" as well.

Or are they even saying that? From an interview with one officer right after the shooting:

The officer said that he did not wait for that man to fire first.

He said, "…as soon as I saw the male suspect come from that direction he yelled something. At that point I began firing my weapon at the suspect."

On closer questioning, that officer told detectives, "…whether at that point he actually had raised the rifle up...I couldn't..."

http://www.kgun9.com/story/14838574/entire-swat-team-says-guerena-fired-at-them#

Now they are ALL saying that he pointed the weapon at them -after they've got their stories together. However, at the time of the shooting - THE OFFFICER THAT OPENED FIRE won't say the gun was pointed at him.

So ALL THE OFFICERS that say he DID point the gun at them ARE LYING.