In April, David Fowler, Maryland’s chief medical examiner from 2002 to 2019, testified that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was not responsible for George Floyd’s death. He testified that the primary cause of Floyd’s death was a sudden heart rhythm disturbance during police restraint due to underlying heart disease—not a lack of oxygen.
That testimony caught the attention of Roger Mitchell, Washington D.C.’s former chief medical examiner. Just a couple weeks later, Mitchell and 431 doctors from around the country sent a letter to Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh outlining concerns with Fowler’s conclusions and, subsequently, his previous casework.
“Dr. Fowler’s stated opinion that George Floyd’s death during active police restraint should be certified with an ‘undetermined’ manner is outside the standard practice and conventions for investigating and certification of in-custody deaths. This stated opinion raises significant concerns for his previous practice and management,” the letter stated.
Frosh agreed, and now, five months later, the attorney general has announced the 7-member design team that will develop the process for reviewing in-custody death determinations made by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) during Fowler’s tenure.
The team will shape the scope and methodology of the audit, including the manner in which cases for review will be selected.
While the selection criteria are unknown at the moment, looking at just the time period of Fowler’s work, the death of Tyrone West could be a case included for review. In 2013, West, a 44-year-old Black male, died after running from Baltimore police during a traffic stop. Witnesses and police officers say there was a violent struggle but accounts vary. During the autopsy, Fowler determined that West died of cardiac arrhythmia when his heart suddenly stopped beating, exacerbated by dehydration, a heart condition, and excessively high temperatures. The medical examiner said neither asphyxia nor trauma from the fight contributed to West’s death.
Another case that could be up for review is that of 19-year-old Anton Black, who died in police custody in 2018. The Black family is currently suing the state of Maryland, OCME and police officers for causing the teenager’s death. They claim the police harmed their son by using excessive force, and OCME “improperly concealing police wrongdoing.”
Black ran from cops after they approached him on the street in response to a 911 call. Once they caught Black, they tased him and then pinned him down for more than five minutes as they handcuffed him and shackled his legs.
During the autopsy, Fowler ruled that Black died because of a sudden cardiac event while struggling with police, and not because they pinned him in a prone position. The Black family says Fowler and OCME are “misrepresenting [Black’s] death as attributable to natural causes.”
As attorney general, Frosh is representing the state in the Black lawsuit, but a spokeswoman for the office says they “have taken steps to wall off those in our office who are representing the OCME and its current and former employees, including Dr. Fowler, from those who might be involved in any review of his reports.”
Once the design team, who’s notable members are outlined below, completes its work, additional members of the review panel will then be selected.
The 7-member design team includes:
- Stephen Cordner, who has been practicing, teaching and/or training in forensic medicine for almost 45 years. He has undertaken autopsies in, and/or death investigations from, most jurisdictions of Australia, New Zealand, East Timor, Fiji and other Pacific island nations, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, India, Jamaica, Canada, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
- Jack Crane, who served as the state pathologist for Northern Ireland from 1990 to 2014. He has been appointed as a forensic pathology expert in many noted cases, such as the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster and the Manchester Arena Bombing.
- Deborah Davis, who is a professor of psychology at the University of Nevado, Reno. Over the last 35 years, Davis has conducted research and authored numerous scientific publications on various topics within law and psychology, and has consulted widely within the legal system. Currently, she serves on the Human Factors Committee within OSAC.
- Itiel Dror, who is an expert in human cognition and decision making. Dror has worked closely with many crime labs examining cognitive and human factors in forensic work, and providing training and methods for reducing bias and improving forensic decisions. He is the former chair of the Human Factors Resource Committee of OSAC.
- Michael Freeman, who is a tenured professor of forensic medicine and epidemiology at Maastricht University, and a joint clinical professor of psychiatry and public health and preventative medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. He has provided expert testimony more than 1,400 times in a wide variety of civil and criminal cases, including injury and death litigation (including deaths in custody), as well as in homicide, assault, and other criminal matters.
- William C. Thompson, who is professor emeritus at the University of California, Irvine, where he has held academic appointments in criminology, psychological science and law. His career has largely been devoted to improving forensic science through test case litigation, scholarly publications, and work with advisory and standard-setting bodies.
- Alfredo E. Walker, who is a registered forensic pathologist that has held appointments in Canada, the UK, the Caribbean and more.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.