Deputy involved was cleared of wrongdoing in December
Mickey Ray Rice
Tallulah – A gunshot wound to the head proved fatal for a Dickson, Tenn., resident after a high-speed 2021 chase, according to the autopsy.
The Graham Star just received the results from a June 21, 2021 autopsy conducted on 31-year-old Mickey Ray Rice last week. Rice was shot after a brief standoff with Graham County authorities on June 20, 2021.
Deputy Courtney Heaton fired on Rice, who had led officers on a high-speed pursuit after leaving a traffic stop in Robbinsville. Rice eventually turned on Anderson Creek Road off U.S. 129 North and after reaching a dead end, was struck in the rear-wheel area to stop the vehicle. Officers soon noticed Rice trying to exit the 2005 Nissan Altima he was operating through the driver’s side, brandishing what appeared to be a real gun toward a fleet of responders.
The gun was later determined to be fake. Rice was pulled from the vehicle for medical assistance, but died at the scene.
The autopsy – conducted by the Harris Regional Hospital Department of Pathology – also notes the presence of glass particles and scarring in the area of Rice’s right neck. The fatal wound entered Rice just beside his left eyebrow, collapsing the eye socket and exiting through the left occipital bone. A 9-mm bullet was recovered from the bone.
A toxicology report conducted by the N.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Aug. 9 – also received by The Graham Star last week – noted the presence of caffeine, nicotine and 40 mg/dl of ethanol (0.04 percent, well under the legal 0.08 limit in North Carolina) in Rice’s system.
Footage from the scene shows Rice repeatedly refused law-enforcement commands to exit the vehicle and put his hands up, according to a Dec. 2 release from the office of District Attorney Ashley Welch, which cleared Heaton of any wrongdoing in the shooting.
“Heaton was justified in the use of deadly force, as it was her actual and reasonable belief that the application of such force was necessary to defend herself and others from imminent harm,” Welch said.
Portions of N.C. G.S. 15A-401(d)(1)(a) and (d)(2) were cited as Welch’s reasoning for clearing Heaton.
According to the release, Welch reviewed witness statements, interviews, photographs, surveillance video, use-of-force policies, CAD report, Heaton’s law-enforcement records, relevant criminal-and-driving histories, crime-scene investigation report, body camera, dash camera and supporting handwritten notes, emails and text messages.
Welch met with members of Rice’s family in November to explain her decision, and also allowed them to review dash-cam video of the pursuit and the shooting.