Detectives Agreed with Scott Suicide, Cop Brass Balked
Police Superintendent Jody Weis thought again about not working with federal investigators.
Detectives present at Scott's autopsy agreed with the medical examiner's conclusion that Scott committed suicide, but police brass balked after hearing concerns from Scott's friends and family, the Sun-Times reports.
The "contact" gunshot wound to Scott's left temple was consistent with other suicides, they concluded (Scott was left-handed).
Scott's facial abrasions and bruising, they decided, were caused by his face-first fall into the river.
The room was in agreement.
"It was determined that Mr. Scott died as the result of a single contact-range gunshot through-and through-to his head, and that particular gunshot wound was self-inflicted," Cook County Medical Examiner Dr. Nancy Jones said Tuesday.
But police brass decided not to close the investigation after speaking with friends and family, all of which had serious concerns that Scott -- a man with seemingly few troubles and no outward signs of distress -- wouldn't have killed himself.
Police note that no suicide note was found on Scott's person or at his home. They're in the process of searching his Blackberry, the Sun-Times says.
Mayor Daley, meanwhile, has urged Chicagoans not to question Scott's death, arguing that depression is an unfathomable disease.
Posted Tuesday, Nov 17, 2009 - 3:20 PM CST
