DETROIT, June 2 (UPI) -- An independent autopsy contradicts reports a Detroit officer fatally shot a 7-year-old girl through the neck while looking for a suspect, a lawyer said.
Aiyana Stanley-Jones was shot May 16 by officer Joseph Weekley in the girl's home on Detroit's east side.
Family lawyer Geoffrey Fieger Tuesday alleged a cover-up by city police.
An autopsy by Macomb County Medical Examiner Daniel Spitz showed the girl was shot through the top of the head, not the neck, as police had reported, said Fieger, who retained Spitz.
Detroit police had no comment while a spokesman for the Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the girl's death certificate officially had been changed to reflect Spitz's findings, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday.
Police have said Weekley was looking for a homicide suspect when he entered the home and his gun accidentally discharged during a scuffle with the girl's grandmother, Mertilla Jones, 46. The girl's family alleges there was no scuffle and Weekley shot intentionally, Fieger said.
"I'm not suggesting that he knew what he was shooting at," Fieger told reporters. "I'm telling you that he pulled the trigger and fired into the house."
