i have contact with deputies at a local jail pretty uch on a daily basis and the horror stories they tell of people coming in and being searched by them and having knifes in their pockets or boots and yes even on occasion handguns missed by the patrol officers. No idea what happened here though.

Let me get this straight: They had frisked him twice, His hands were cuffed behind his back,he shoots himself in the head and their video is compromised.

That's what the incident actually occurred, more than 100 miles northeast of Little Rock.

Wondering why there was any expectation that it would be on video

prior to the shooting, during and after, how the officers acted/reacted would be pretty strong evidence as to what happened.

Presumes they were in the field of view, but it could indeed be useful.

See the article for more on that

....is that they did miss a gun in the search and Carter knew it would be found during the jail search (which is much more thorough) and he tried to get it out and stuff it into the crack in the seat to hide it....doing this behind your back with your hands cuffed could result in a unintended discharge of the weapon at a weird angle..
If the cops wanted to shoot him they would have done it outside the car, they aren't that stupid.

Right.

Unless the weapon was stuffed down his crack there is no way he could have gotten at it with his hands cuffed behind his back. Plus, what does the autopsy show regarding bullet angle, where did the first bullet strike, etc.

IIRC, the worst punishment I've ever seen for cops who have handcuffed suspects "accidentally" die in custody is to simply get fired...