Autopsies misclassified in-custody deaths that were actually homicides, Maryland officials say

ANNAPOLIS Md AP An audit of Maryland autopsies has uncovered at least in-custody police deaths that should have been considered homicides state executives informed Thursday following a comprehensive review of such cases spurred by widespread concerns about the former state curative examiner s testimony in the death of George Floyd Gov Wes Moore and other state leaders disclosed their findings at a news conference The findings of this audit are deeply concerning Moore stated Investigators focused on autopsies performed during the tenure of Dr David Fowler who testified for the defense at the murder trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin Fowler attributed Floyd s death to a sudden heart rhythm disturbance as a aftermath of his heart sickness a widely rejected theory that did little to persuade the jury Chauvin was ultimately convicted of murder and manslaughter for kneeling on Floyd s neck for more than nine minutes After his conviction therapeutic experts signed a letter to the Maryland attorney general asserting that Fowler s testimony deviated way outside the bounds of accepted forensic practice In addition to citing heart problems he classified the manner of death as undetermined rather than homicide The letter called for an research to determine whether the office s in-custody death determinations under Fowler s leadership exhibited racial or pro-law enforcement bias among other anticipated issues Fowler was Maryland s chief healthcare examiner from to In state personnel approved a settlement agreement that reformed the process for conducting autopsies on people killed in police custody That change came in response to the death of Anton Black who died in police custody on Maryland s Eastern Shore His death was captured on video which exhibited police in rural Greensboro holding the unarmed teenager down for more than six minutes Fowler ruled that Black died because of a sudden cardiac event while struggling with police not because they pinned him in a prone position Fowler similarly ruled that Tyrone West died of natural causes after struggling with Baltimore police following a traffic stop in Onlookers and the officers themselves declared there was a violent struggle between the officers and West Fowler s tenure also included the death of Freddie Gray years ago The autopsy concluded Gray died from spinal injuries sustained during transfer in a Baltimore police van It also classified his death as a homicide because officers repeatedly failed to seek anatomical attention while he was in distress Prosecutors filed charges against six officers but none were convicted Source