Miami Police Officer Would Have Survived Gunshot Wound If He Had Gotten Medical Assistance: Arrest Affidavit

Miami Police Officer Carl Patrick would have lived for several minutes after receiving a fatal gunshot in his Pembroke Pines home but his girlfriend made no calls for medical assistance after leaving with his phone, according to an arrest affidavit released Thursday.

The affidavit details the investigation into Patrick's death and the arrest of girlfriend Tiniko Thompson, who faces a second-degree murder charge in his death.

Thompson, 46, made her first court appearance Thursday following her arrest late Wednesday night, 19 days after his body was found. She was ordered held without bond.

According to the affidavit, officers found the body of Patrick in the bedroom of his home on May 9, after he failed to show up for work on May 7, 8 and 9. Officers had been called to the home after Thompson's mother called police to report that Thompson was threatening suicide, the affidavit said.

The officers found Patrick's body completely covered except for his feet, with a firearm nearby. Blood splatter was on the wall and floor, and Patrick had a gunshot wound in his right shoulder area, the affidavit said.

Unusual burn marks were also found on the bedding covering the body.

"There were burn marks found on the bedding that covered him that were consistent with something being lit on fire and then placed on top of the body," the affidavit said.

Also found on the kitchen table was a note reading "It was an accident we had a fight," the affidavit said.

A medical examiner later determined that Patrick hadn't suffered an incapacitating wound, and said the injury would have been survivable had Patrick received medical assistance, the affidavit said.

But Thompson, who took Patrick's cellphone, his sole means of calling for assistance, made no calls, the affidavit said.

When officers found Thompson, she refused to cooperate or answer questions without her attorney, the affidavit said. She also had a cut and an abrasion on her body, the affidavit said.

A few days after the body was found, Thompson sat next to her attorney and spoke exclusively to NBC 6 to give her version of what happened, saying Patrick attacked her and pulled a weapon on her.

“He scared me. I don’t know what else to say,” Thompson said. “He scared me. I feared for my life and I held on and we struggled because I wasn’t going to let go.”

 Thompson continued, “He slipped and he fell and I was still backed up into a corner and we’re still tussling with the gun. And at that moment he is turning this way and it went ‘POW!’ And that was it. He called me a b****. He said, ‘You b****.’”

Thompson, who said she was living with Patrick, claims she left the home after the shooting and slept in her car until her mother called police.

According to the affidavit, police obtained a search warrant for Patrick's car, where they found Thompson's purse and driver's license, as well as a note. The note, which was partly illegible, read: We had a fight We struggle with gun so please know that I was scared to call the police oh he left all his money to Andrea," the affidavit said.

Patrick's cell phone was also found in the car with blood evidence on it, the affidavit said. A towel and clothing with blood evidence was also found in a plastic bag in the car, the affidavit said.

According to the affidavit, Pembroke Pines Police reviewed the footage of Thompson's interview with NBC 6 after serving a subpoena. Thompson's account of Patrick's death conflicted with the evidence recovered at the scene and the medical examiner's report, the affidavit said.

The medical examiner also noted that Patrick was right-handed and the wound he received would not be consistent with him shooting himself while holding the gun in his right hand, the affidavit said.

The affidavit also noted that Thompson answered Patrick's cell phone when two of Patrick's supervisors called when he didn't show up for work but she told neither of them that there had been an altercation or that medical assistance was needed.

Miami Police Chief Manuel Orosa released a statement Thursday thanking Pembroke Pines Police for their investigation.

"My hope now is that this arrest brings the closure that we so desperately need in the aftermath of what has been a terrible tragedy for us all," Orosa said.

Thompson's attorney, Rod Vereen, said he didn't want to discuss what "my client knows."

“I’m always confident the justice system will treat everybody fairly," Vereen said Wednesday night. “Whether individuals inside the justice system try to treat her differently, I don’t know. We’ll see."

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