Now this is a photograph of the same front seat of Chapel’s vehicle with the armrests in the “down” position. Chapel kept a large plastic pack unit that filled all of the front passenger seat. It was called a “pursuit pack”, and it was used to store papers and other necessary equipment for his on-duty use. Access to this pursuit pack would have been partially denied with the armrests down.

Notice how access to the MDT keyboard is severely restricted, particularly access to the lower tiers of keys. Notice also that there is absolutely no access to the other communications equipment in the vehicle: the CB radio and the emergency radio and PA system. The other reasons for keeping the armrests in the “up” position are that Chapel, at 6’6” and almost 300 pounds with his police equipment would have been not only uncomfortable, but severely cramped with the armrests in the “down” position. Finally, Chapel is right-handed, and with the armrests down, he would have been denied or severely restricted in access to his weapon.

Note also the scratches on the front seat backboard and the permanent indentation in his seat from placement of the baton in this position. With the baton so seated, no other gear could be placed in this position. In particular, placement of Chapel’s “smoky” style, wide-brim hat would not have allowed the scratches to be made by his baton. With nothing else to do in the 23 hours a day he spends alone in his cell, Chapel, still the cop trying to solve the case, theorized that a smoky style police hat with a plastic cover might have dripped a blood spot on the armrest, but clearly the brim of the hat would have to have been behind the baton, and such a drip of blood would have reached the floor and not have reached the area of the armrest where the blood spot was found. See Photograph #002 in this series. Finally, the witnesses that saw the police officer in the muffler shop driveway testified that the officer was not carrying a baton, just a flashlight and that in his left hand.