McGlothen Family Attorney on Video: 'Our Eyes Don't Lie to Us'

James Carter, attorney for the McGlothen family, talks with 101.7 / 710 KEEL's Robert J Wright and Erin McCarty about his disputes with the findings of the Tommy McGlothen autopsy and what legal recourse the family plans to take against the city of Shreveport.

Carter, Managing Partner for Trials and Mass Torts for the Cochran Law Firm in New Orleans, tells KEEL listeners, "that the Cochran Firm has, for several decades, a reputation for handling police brutality cases. Our namesake, Johnnie Cochran, Jr., born in Shreveport, was legendary in this particular type of matter. The (McGlothlen) family contacted us to be...represented in this particular matter."

Carter also talks about his contention with the conclusions in the McGlothen autopsy by Caddo Coroner Dr. Todd Thoma. Thoma's autopsy concluded that the cause of McGlothen's death was "excited delirium."

"This does not really have any true scientific basis," Carter says, "It is an area that has emerged to justify why an individual died while in the custody of law enforcement. The history of this particular use of the word, "excited delirium," mainly has occurred when people of color...are unjustifiably killed while in police custody. Therefore, we call it a junk science."

The attorney says he and his clients are calling for full transparency on the part of the Shreveport Police department. "We believe that the actions of the police were the causative factor behind the eventual death of Tommy McGlothen. We are saying we need all of the facts, every fact uncovered to make the final disposition, but our eyes don't lie to us."