On the evening of June 20, 2014, 19-year-old Denzel Jaba Curnell died of a single gunshot wound to the head in Charleston, South Carolina, after an encounter with an off-duty police officer at the Bridgeview Village apartment complex. The Charleston Police Department reports Officer Jamal Medlin approached Curnell because his hoodie seemed suspicious on a warm night; Medlin says a struggle followed and that Curnell produced a revolver and shot himself. The Charleston County Coroner ruled the death a suicide, and law enforcement noted gunshot residue on Curnell’s hand but not on the officer’s.

Multiple eyewitnesses and Curnell’s family disputed that account, saying witnesses saw Medlin shoot Curnell after he had complied with an order to get on the ground, and family members pointed out Curnell was left-handed while the wound was on the right side of his head. The State Law Enforcement Division took over the investigation and Medlin was placed on paid administrative leave, but no arrest or charges followed and the case was closed with the suicide ruling.

Are there additional witnesses or documentation that could help reconcile the conflicting accounts?