The man killed by Duke Police officers in a March incident outside Duke Hospital was shot once in the head, according to the autopsy report released Friday.
The single gunshot wound caused severe damage to Durham resident Aaron Lorenzo Dorsey's skull and brain, according to the report by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Chapel Hill. Dorsey, 25, also had a laceration and abrasion on the inside of his lower lip.
Medical tests did not find alcohol or drugs in Dorsey's system. No weapons were listed among Dorsey's possessions, but two bus brochures were found with Dorsey's body.
Dorsey was not identified as the victim of the March 13 incident until March 17. His fingerprints were submitted to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in order to identify him.
The report describes Dorsey as a 5-foot-four-inch, 180-pound black male with black hair and a beard. He was wearing a black jacket, gray sweatshirt, white buttoned shirt, blue T-shirt, blue jeans, black belt and black shoes, according to the report.
The shooting occurred March 13 at about 1:09 a.m. when Duke University Police Department officers Larry Carter and Jeffrey Liberto responded to a report of a suspicious person outside of Duke University Hospital’s main entrance. Dorsey attacked the officers and tried to obtain control of one of their guns, DUPD Chief John Dailey said in a statement March 17.
When other efforts to stop Dorsey failed, one officer fired his gun once, fatally wounding Dorsey, Dailey noted in the statement. Dailey declined to say which officer fired his weapon.
Although the State Bureau of Investigation is still investigating the incident, Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, said May 24 that DUPD has completed its inquiry.
Noelle Talley, public information officer for the North Carolina Department of Justice, declined to say when SBI will release additional details about the case.
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