TUNE-IN ALERT: Investigation Discovery doc examines police corruption in suicidal death of man in policies custody in 'Sugar Town' on Aug. 6 (WATCH SNEEK PREVIEWS)
How can a man handcuffed from the back fatally shoot himself in the chest while being driven to the police station?In this unsolved mystery, Louisiana police walk away from an alleged suicide that left many puzzled in the state's top sugar producing city ,New Iberia, where a railroad track has historically been the dividing line racially and economically. SUGAR TOWN examines power and controversy in the 2014 death of Victor White, III that coroners ruled a suicide. Dubbed "handcuffed Hoodini," White's death is the focus of Investigation Discoveries SUGAR TOWN, airing next Monday at 8 PM, ET/PT.
SUGAR TOWN
premieres Monday, August 6 at 8pm ET/PT on Investigation Discovery.
SYNOPSIS:
Built on sugar cane production, New Iberia, Louisiana is a complicated town bisected by railroad tracks. Residents to the north of the tracks are predominantly white, while largely black neighborhoods lie to the south. These steel lines created a strong history of racial divide predating the American Civil War in New Iberia, and a Jim Crow south most residents would argue is still very much alive to this day. On March 2, 2014, simmering racial tensions came to a boil when 22-year-old Victor White III was fatally shot in the back of a police car while being taken to the station. Even more puzzling is the officers' accounts that White shot himself in the chest...despite being handcuffed behind his back in the rear seat of the patrol car.
Built on sugar cane production, New Iberia, Louisiana is a complicated town bisected by railroad tracks. Residents to the north of the tracks are predominantly white, while largely black neighborhoods lie to the south. These steel lines created a strong history of racial divide predating the American Civil War in New Iberia, and a Jim Crow south most residents would argue is still very much alive to this day. On March 2, 2014, simmering racial tensions came to a boil when 22-year-old Victor White III was fatally shot in the back of a police car while being taken to the station. Even more puzzling is the officers' accounts that White shot himself in the chest...despite being handcuffed behind his back in the rear seat of the patrol car.
Focusing on the central mystery of what might have happened to Victor White III, SUGAR TOWN chronicles the White family's search for justice for their son's suspicious death while in police custody. The mystery becomes far more unsettling than any single tragedy, revealing a larger story of power, corruption and racial injustice nestled within a divided southern town, with Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal - a man shrouded in controversy - at the center. Exposing the reality of a country in turmoil and the everyday people demanding justice, Investigation Discovery and Stephen David Entertainment are proud to present the powerful two-hour documentary, SUGAR TOWN, on Monday, August 6 from 8-10PM ET.