Latest news with #DavidFowler
CBS News
28-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Maryland mother wants police to reopen cases reclassified as homicides
Maryland families push for police to reopen cases where cause of death changed Maryland families push for police to reopen cases where cause of death changed Maryland families push for police to reopen cases where cause of death changed Civil rights leaders are putting a spotlight on the Katherine Morris Death Reclassification Act, which requires police to reopen investigations where the cause or manner of death has changed to undetermined or homicide. The plea follows the reclassification of at least 36 deaths in police custody in Maryland to homicides after an audit revealed pro-police and racial biases by Maryland's former chief medical examiner, David Fowler. A mother's persistence Marguerite Morris has long believed her daughter Katherine's death was suspicious. Civil rights leaders are putting a spotlight on the Katherine Morris Death Reclassification Act, which requires police to reopen investigations where the cause or manner of death has changed to undetermined or homicide. Contributed photo Police found Katherine in a parking lot near Arundel Mills in 2012 with lit charcoal grills in her car. Authorities initially said she died of suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning. Her mother has been fighting since then to get police to take another look at her daughter's case and list it with other unsolved cases on their website. Morris even worked to successfully pass legislation in 2024 to mandate police reopen investigations in cases where the cause and manner of death have been changed to undetermined or homicide. The law also gives families 180 days to appeal decisions. Civil rights leaders are putting a spotlight on the Katherine Morris Death Reclassification Act, which requires police to reopen investigations where the cause or manner of death has changed to undetermined or homicide. Contributed photo "We want transparency. We want accountability," Morris said. "We want someone who's going to look at it with clean eyes and clear eyes and get back to us with a response." She is still in a legal battle over her daughter's case. "What we're asking for is to look at how certain cases were handled to see if they rise to obstruction of justice," Morris said at a news conference Tuesday. Civil rights leaders are putting a spotlight on the Katherine Morris Death Reclassification Act, which requires police to reopen investigations where the cause or manner of death has changed to undetermined or homicide. CBS News Baltimore Wide-ranging impact The law Morris helped pass, HB969, potentially impacts 36 autopsies that were recently reclassified as homicides after an audit of Maryland deaths in police custody. The audit was spurred by former chief medical examiner David Fowler's testimony on behalf of the officer convicted of killing George Floyd. Fowler has not returned WJZ's calls and emails for comment. "We now need clarification as to how many of those cases can be triggered by Katherine's Law because technically it would fall under it, and those families need to know today that they do have the right to look into how that law can be activated in their cases," Morris said. Delegate J. Sandy Bartlett, the vice-chair of the judiciary committee, said she will introduce more legislation if necessary "For us, we may have moved on, but for these families, time stopped," she said. "With unanswered questions, it is intolerable. …I can only imagine the burdens these families carry every single day." The Maryland attorney general is currently investigating those deaths impacted by the audit and has promised reviews of each one, but he acknowledged that may not lead to any new charges. "We hope and pray this never happens to you, but if it does, you want all your rights to pursue the truth in the death of your loved one," said Pastor Stephen Andrew Tillett, from the Asbury Broadneck UMC in Annapolis. Hanging death The family of Keith Warren, a 19-year-old found hanging from a tree in Montgomery County in 1986, also hopes to get fresh eyes on his case. His sister joined Morris at the news conference Tuesday and said her brother's death was reclassified from suicide to undetermined in 2024, but that is not enough. "My mother—the anniversary of her death was yesterday—she went to her early grave fighting for justice for her only son. All we've asked is for Montgomery County, Maryland, to show how he put himself in this tree," Sherri Warren said. You can read more about her brother's case here.
CBS News
27-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
Advocates call for probe into law enforcement's handling of death investigations after review of Maryland autopsies
Advocates are calling for an investigation into how law enforcement handled death investigations after an audit of Maryland's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) found that some police custody deaths were misclassified. Members of Community Actively Seeking Transparency (CAST) and the Anne Arundel County NAACP are asking state leaders to determine if the mishandling of those cases could be considered obstruction of justice. The two groups will hold a news conference Tuesday afternoon. Review of Maryland medical examiner's office The independent review looked at more than 85 cases that were completed when the office was under the guidance of former Chief Medical Examiner Dr. David Fowler. In 44 of those cases, the auditors disagreed with the determined manner of death. Reviewers instead found that many of the cases should have been ruled as homicides. The audit found patterns of possible racial disparities, Maryland Attorney General Brown said. According to the review, deaths that involved Black people or individuals who were restrained by police were less likely to be ruled as homicides. The audit also found that some of the case reports did not include full details and failed to document injuries connected to police restraints. Maryland Gov. Moore pushes for further investigation After the audit was released, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore created a task force to improve how police custody deaths are investigated. The Maryland Task Force on In-Custody Restraint-Related Death Investigations includes government officials, forensic experts, law enforcement and legal professionals. The group was asked to recommend oversight processes for future investigations and consider if more audits are needed. The governor's executive order also directs the Department of Health and the Medical Examiner's Office to report on their progress in implementing recommended changes.
CNN
17-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Dozens of homicides in police custody were misclassified in autopsies, Maryland officials say
An audit of Maryland autopsies has uncovered at least 36 deaths in police custody that should have been considered homicides, state officials announced Thursday. The announcement followed a comprehensive review of such cases spurred by widespread concerns about the former state medical examiner's testimony in the death of George Floyd. Medical examiners under Dr. David Fowler displayed racial and pro-police bias, according to the review. They were 'especially unlikely to classify a death as a homicide if the decedent was Black, or if they died after being restrained by police,' Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said during a news conference. 'These findings have profound implications across our justice system,' Brown said. 'They speak to systemic issues rather than individual conduct.' The auditors reviewed 87 in-custody death cases after medical experts questioned Fowler's work following his testimony that police weren't responsible for Floyd's death. The Maryland team focused on cases in which people died suddenly after being restrained, often by police, officials said. Three-person panels evaluated each autopsy and, in 36 cases, they unanimously concluded that the deaths should have been classified as homicides but were not. In five more cases, two of the three reviewers came to that conclusion. Fowler didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said he has signed an executive order directing Brown to review the 41 cases and determine if any should be reopened for investigation. Moore mentioned the families whose loved ones have died in police custody, some of whom have been 'screaming for this type of analysis — and have been met with silence.' He also acknowledged the many members of law enforcement who do their jobs honorably and protect the public. Moore said he has also created a statewide task force to study the deaths of people restrained in law enforcement custody. He said the state won't shy away from rooting out misconduct and working to create a more equitable justice system. Among a list of recommendations, the review suggested better training for law enforcement officers on the dangers of improper restraint techniques. It also directed the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to create standardized procedures for investigating restraint-related deaths. The governor described the review as the first of its kind in the nation, saying he hopes it will provide a model for similar investigations elsewhere. In a national investigation published last year, The Associated Press and its reporting partners found that medical examiners and coroners, whose rulings have huge consequences in the courts, can face pressure from law enforcement to exonerate officers. Some medical officials based their decisions not on physical evidence, but instead on whether they believed police intended to kill. When deaths are ruled accidental, prosecutions of officers are exceedingly rare. Of 443 cases that were ruled accidental, just two resulted in criminal charges. A family's chances of winning a wrongful death lawsuit also become much tougher. While the audit findings are troubling, Maryland officials said they don't suggest intentional or malicious conduct. They emphasized that a homicide classification simply means someone died because of another person's action, not necessarily that the officers involved should be prosecuted. Fowler, who was Maryland's chief medical examiner from 2002 to 2019, testified for the defense at the 2021 murder trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin. He attributed Floyd's death to a sudden heart rhythm disturbance as a result of his heart disease — 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 Chauvin's conviction, 400 medical experts signed a letter to the Maryland attorney general saying 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 investigation to determine whether the office's in-custody death determinations under Fowler's leadership exhibited certain bias, among other potential issues. Officials said Thursday that their audit found a troubling systemic pattern. Nearly half of the reviewed cases cited 'excited delirium' as a cause of death, a diagnosis that has been debunked by medical experts in recent years. Critics say it was often used to justify excessive force by police. The report recommended that medical examiners stop using the term altogether. In 2023, state officials approved a settlement agreement that reformed the process for conducting autopsies on people killed in police custody. That change came in response to the 2018 death of Anton Black, who died in police custody on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The 19-year-old's death was captured on video, which showed 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. His death was declared an accident. Fowler similarly ruled that Tyrone West died of natural causes after struggling with Baltimore police following a traffic stop in 2013. Witnesses and the officers themselves said there was a violent struggle between the officers and West. His manner of death was undetermined, according to the autopsy. Both Black and West are now included on the list of cases that should have been ruled homicides. West's sister Tawanda Jones has held weekly rallies for 616 weeks – more than 11 years – to highlight her brother's case. She said she feels something positive will come from the investigation. 'They're finally listening to me now,' Jones said. 'It feels good that finally they're listening.' Fowler's tenure also included the death of Freddie Gray 10 years ago. The autopsy concluded Gray died from spinal injuries sustained during transport in a Baltimore police van. It also classified his death as a homicide because officers repeatedly failed to seek medical attention while he was in distress. Prosecutors filed charges against six officers, but none were convicted.
CNN
16-05-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Dozens of homicides in police custody were misclassified in autopsies, Maryland officials say
Crime FacebookTweetLink An audit of Maryland autopsies has uncovered at least 36 deaths in police custody that should have been considered homicides, state officials announced Thursday. The announcement followed a comprehensive review of such cases spurred by widespread concerns about the former state medical examiner's testimony in the death of George Floyd. Medical examiners under Dr. David Fowler displayed racial and pro-police bias, according to the review. They were 'especially unlikely to classify a death as a homicide if the decedent was Black, or if they died after being restrained by police,' Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said during a news conference. 'These findings have profound implications across our justice system,' Brown said. 'They speak to systemic issues rather than individual conduct.' The auditors reviewed 87 in-custody death cases after medical experts questioned Fowler's work following his testimony that police weren't responsible for Floyd's death. The Maryland team focused on cases in which people died suddenly after being restrained, often by police, officials said. Three-person panels evaluated each autopsy and, in 36 cases, they unanimously concluded that the deaths should have been classified as homicides but were not. In five more cases, two of the three reviewers came to that conclusion. Fowler didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said he has signed an executive order directing Brown to review the 41 cases and determine if any should be reopened for investigation. Moore mentioned the families whose loved ones have died in police custody, some of whom have been 'screaming for this type of analysis — and have been met with silence.' He also acknowledged the many members of law enforcement who do their jobs honorably and protect the public. Moore said he has also created a statewide task force to study the deaths of people restrained in law enforcement custody. He said the state won't shy away from rooting out misconduct and working to create a more equitable justice system. Among a list of recommendations, the review suggested better training for law enforcement officers on the dangers of improper restraint techniques. It also directed the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to create standardized procedures for investigating restraint-related deaths. The governor described the review as the first of its kind in the nation, saying he hopes it will provide a model for similar investigations elsewhere. In a national investigation published last year, The Associated Press and its reporting partners found that medical examiners and coroners, whose rulings have huge consequences in the courts, can face pressure from law enforcement to exonerate officers. Some medical officials based their decisions not on physical evidence, but instead on whether they believed police intended to kill. When deaths are ruled accidental, prosecutions of officers are exceedingly rare. Of 443 cases that were ruled accidental, just two resulted in criminal charges. A family's chances of winning a wrongful death lawsuit also become much tougher. While the audit findings are troubling, Maryland officials said they don't suggest intentional or malicious conduct. They emphasized that a homicide classification simply means someone died because of another person's action, not necessarily that the officers involved should be prosecuted. Fowler, who was Maryland's chief medical examiner from 2002 to 2019, testified for the defense at the 2021 murder trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin. He attributed Floyd's death to a sudden heart rhythm disturbance as a result of his heart disease — 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 Chauvin's conviction, 400 medical experts signed a letter to the Maryland attorney general saying 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 investigation to determine whether the office's in-custody death determinations under Fowler's leadership exhibited certain bias, among other potential issues. Officials said Thursday that their audit found a troubling systemic pattern. Nearly half of the reviewed cases cited 'excited delirium' as a cause of death, a diagnosis that has been debunked by medical experts in recent years. Critics say it was often used to justify excessive force by police. The report recommended that medical examiners stop using the term altogether. In 2023, state officials approved a settlement agreement that reformed the process for conducting autopsies on people killed in police custody. That change came in response to the 2018 death of Anton Black, who died in police custody on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The 19-year-old's death was captured on video, which showed 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. His death was declared an accident. Fowler similarly ruled that Tyrone West died of natural causes after struggling with Baltimore police following a traffic stop in 2013. Witnesses and the officers themselves said there was a violent struggle between the officers and West. His manner of death was undetermined, according to the autopsy. Both Black and West are now included on the list of cases that should have been ruled homicides. West's sister Tawanda Jones has held weekly rallies for 616 weeks – more than 11 years – to highlight her brother's case. She said she feels something positive will come from the investigation. 'They're finally listening to me now,' Jones said. 'It feels good that finally they're listening.' Fowler's tenure also included the death of Freddie Gray 10 years ago. The autopsy concluded Gray died from spinal injuries sustained during transport in a Baltimore police van. It also classified his death as a homicide because officers repeatedly failed to seek medical attention while he was in distress. Prosecutors filed charges against six officers, but none were convicted.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Medical examiner audit reclassifies dozens of police-restraint deaths as homicides
Jeff Kukucka, a Towson University psychology professor, led a team that reviewed 1,300 cases handed by former Chief Medical Examiner Dr. David Fowler. He announced the findings Thursday with Attorney General Anthony Brown (left) and Gov. Wes Moore. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) Dozens of police-custody deaths that were ruled accidental or of unknown causes have been reclassified as homicides after a four-year review of more than 1,300 cases handled by former Maryland State Medical Examiner Dr. David Fowler. The results of that review, announced Thursday, also highlighted potential racial and pro-police biases in the medical examiner's office at the time that may have contributed to the mischaracterizations. The audit, led by Towson University psychology professor Jeff Kukucka, looked at roughly 1,300 in-custody deaths between 2003 and 2019 — a period corresponding with Fowler's time leading the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME). Attorney General Anthony Brown (D), who announced the findings with Kukucka and Gov. Wes Moore (D), said the report raises 'profound concerns, and they are well founded in the audit.' 'The audit report's findings reveal significant discrepancies that demand our attention and response,' Brown said. 'Our research has determined that OCME was especially unlikely to classify death as a homicide if the decedent was Black or if they died after being restrained by police,' Brown said. 'These findings have profound implications across our justice system. They speak to systemic issues rather than individual conduct.' The audit, released Thursday afternoon, will be presented Friday to the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. 'The findings of this audit are deeply concerning.,' Moore said. 'It's going to take time to digest a report prepared over the course of four years and two different administrations. 'But if there's one takeaway that we've already drawn at this very early stage is this: We have to make sure we are continuing to make Maryland a model for public safety and transparency and equal justice under the law, and one is not more important than the other,' he said. Moore said the audit is the first of its kind in the nation, and should set 'the standard for what this type of investigation can, and what this type of investigation should, look like' in other states. 'Blazing new trails is never easy,' Kukucka said, 'but someone has to lead the way, and we believe that Maryland can and will be that leader in terms of strengthening death investigations across the country. 'We hope that our rigorous audit procedure will provide a blueprint for other states to conduct similar audits, and that implementing our recommendations will establish Maryland's OCME as a gold standard to which other agencies can aspire,' he said. The audit released by the Office of the Attorney General included the names of 41 people who died soon after being restrained by police. The majority included an 'undetermined' cause of death ruling. As a result of the audit, all 41 are reclassified as homicides. Shawn Floyd, 2018, Anne Arundel County Gregory Williams, 2003, Baltimore City Shawn Bryant, 2004, Baltimore City Rodney Wilson, 2005, Baltimore City Dondi Johnson, 2005, Baltimore City William Washington, 2006, Baltimore City Carlos Branch, 2007, Baltimore City Thomas Campbell, 2007, Baltimore City Eric Dorsey, 2001, Baltimore City Jontae Daughtry, 2011, Baltimore City Tyrone West, 2013, Baltimore City Ricky Artis, 2014, Baltimore City George King, 2014, Baltimore City Antonio Moreno, 2014, Baltimore City Thomas Rawls, 2006, Baltimore County Ryan Meyers, 2007, Baltimore County Carl Johnson, 2010, Baltimore County Mary Croker, 2010, Baltimore County Tawon Boyd, 2016, Baltimore County Dominic Edwards, 2018, Carroll Jarrel Gray, 2007, Frederick Anthony Casarella, 2007, Frederick Terrance Watts, 2018, Frederick David Matarazzo, 2007, Harford George Barnes, 2007, Montgomery Kareem Ali, 2010, Montgomery Delric East, 2011, Montgomery Anthony Howard, 2013, Montgomery Ricardo Manning, 2019, Montgomery Cedric Gilmore, 2004, Prince George's James Jackson, 2003, Prince George's Marcus Skinner, 2007, Prince George's Alexis Caston, 2007, Prince George's Deontre Dorsey, 2015, Prince George's Anton Black. 2018, Talbot Theodore Rosenberry, 2006, Washington James Adell, 2013, Washington Darrell Brown, 2015, Washington Ronald Byler, 2005, Wicomico Yekuna McDonald, 2012, Wicomico The review began in 2021, sparked by an outcry over Fowler's testimony in the trial of Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of murder in the 2020 death of George Floyd during an arrest. As part of that arrest, Chauvin knelt for up to nine minutes on the neck of Floyd, who said repeatedly that he could not breathe. Fowler, who resigned as the chief medical examiner in 2019, was called as an expert witness for Chauvin. He testified that Floyd's death was caused by 'excited delirium,' rather than police actions. Excited delirium was a catchall term used to describe aggressive behaviors related to mental health or substance abuse issues. It has been disavowed by the American Medical Association and the National Association of Medical Examiners. Fowler came under fire for his testimony in the highly publicized case. The audit was triggered by a 2021 letter from 450 medical experts, who called on Maryland officials to investigate deaths in police custody and practices in the medical examiner's office under Fowler. 'These members of the medical community were concerned that our state's death determination has been tainted by racial or pro law enforcement bias, or were otherwise inconsistent with the standard practices for investigating and certifying in custody deaths,' Brown said. Among the report's findings: Excited delirium or the synonymous agitated delirium was cited in the death statements made by Fowler's office in 42 of the more than 80 in-custody deaths that came shortly after an episode of police restraint. Researchers reviewing the initial 1,300 in-custody deaths focused on 84 cases of individuals who died soon after being restrained by police. Those cases were reviewed by 12 forensic pathologists, randomly divided into three-member panels. Sensitive and identifying information about the dead, including race, was redacted from reports reviewed by the teams. In all, the teams disagreed with 41 cause-of-death determinations issued by Fowler's office. In 36 of those cases, all three panel members determined the cause of death to be homicide; in the remaining five, two of the three experts called the death a homicide. In 34 of those cases, the medical examiner's office reported that the cause and manner of death was undetermined. Five were ruled accidental and another two were ruled death by natural causes. 'Those discrepancies suggest that OCME practices during the audits time frame were out of step with national standards for death certification, namely the 'but for' standard, which states that any death resulting from the actions of another person, regardless of that person's intent, should be classified as a homicide,' Kukucka said. 'As a result, it appears that OCME undercounted restraint-related homicides during the audit time frame,' he said. 'We also found that they undercounted homicides even more in cases where the decedent was Black or was restrained by police, which raises the possibility of racial and pro-police bias.' Those deaths have now been reclassified as homicides. Of the 41 cases, 14 occurred in Baltimore City and five each were in Baltimore, Montgomery and Prince George's counties. Officials cautioned that the reclassifications do not equal a finding of criminal activity or culpability. Instead, it means that the deaths occurred as the result of the action of another person. 'There's no suggestion that anyone is currently culpable, but it's our responsibility to go through these files, beyond the OCME report, beyond the medical and the original forensic examination, look at the entire file, which means engaging law enforcement as well to make determination,' Brown said. Kukucka stressed the report comes with two caveats. First, the review is retrospective, looking at a specific period of time. The most recent case reviewed is six years old. Kukucka said that 'makes it impossible to know whether racial or pro-police biases truly affected OCME determinations. Those disparities could instead reflect factors other than bias.' And he repeated Brown's caution that the findings do not imply criminal wrongdoing or liability. In addition to the release of the report and broader review of the deaths at the county level, officials announced a series of reforms meant to improve death investigations within the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Moore, prior to the release of the report, signed an executive order directing Brown's office to work with state's attorneys to review each case. Those reviews could potentially lead to reopening investigations. Moore also ordered the Maryland Department of Health to work with the medical examiner's office to implement best-practice investigation policies. The department is ordered to report on its progress by Dec. 31, 2026. Finally, Moore's order creates a new task force to work on policies to reduce in-custody police restraint deaths. That panel will include health and legal experts, law enforcement and community members 'Maryland was the first state in the nation to launch a comprehensive audit on the office of chief medical examiner, and today, we are proud that we'll also become the first state in the nation to respond to such an audit with swift and targeted action,' Moore said. 'I hope that our work will inspire others around the country to take similar steps as we work together to strengthen our system of justice,' he said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
