The 24-year-old man shot dead by police in December had marijuana in his system when he died, according to an autopsy performed by the Hamilton County Medical Examiner's Office.
Chattanooga police officers shot and killed Javario Eagle on Dec. 12 after they said Eagle refused to put down a knife and a gun and threatened a 4-year-old girl.
Javario EagleThe autopsy also shows that police shot Eagle eight times, with bullets striking a leg, arm, chest, shoulder, stomach and buttocks.
Police initially responded to a home at 5113 Woodlawn View Circle just before noon on Dec. 12 after receiving a 911 call warning that a man was exhibiting "unusual behavior" and making "unusual statements," police Chief Fred Fletcher said on the day of the incident.
Fletcher said Eagle went in and out of the house several times, each time armed, and then left the home a final time with a knife and a handgun. Fletcher said that time Eagle had a 4-year-old girl with him.
The chief said officers tried to coax the girl away from Eagle and an officer left cover to grab the girl once she moved away from her father. At that point, Fletcher said, Eagle "aggressively moved toward" the officer and the child, and multiple officers began to shoot.
A video of the killing taken by a bystander shows multiple officers surrounding Eagle while bystanders yell at Eagle to put the gun down. At one point Eagle falls to the ground - the bystander recording the video says, "They shot him," - and then several officers move closer to Eagle.
Then, suddenly, multiple officers open fire - apparently while Eagle is on the ground - shooting rapidly.
The bullets cut through Eagle's muscle, bone and intestines. They cut through his lung, spleen and liver. He was the last person to be killed in Chattanooga during 2015, when the city saw 30 homicides.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office is investigating whether or not police were justified when they killed Eagle. The officers who fired have not been publicly identified and that investigation is ongoing.
It's hard to say how the marijuana in Eagle's system would have affected him, said Barbee Sharp, a medical assistant at drug and DNA testing company ARCpoint Labs in Chattanooga.
"When you get to marijuana, each body metabolizes it differently," she said. "It depends on their fat cells as to how quick it gets in and out."
Eagle was charged with possession of marijuana, vandalism, domestic assault and criminal impersonation in May 2014. He pleaded guilty to the domestic assault charge, and all other charges were dismissed.
Contact staff reporter Shelly Bradbury at 423-757-6525 or sbradbury@timesfreepress.com with tips or story ideas. Follow @ShellyBradbury.