Maryland launches review of cases by ex-medical chief who served as defense expert for Chauvin

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This guys defense of Derek Chauvin was so dubious Maryland now has to review his cases..

...Fowler said he would have classified Floyd’s death as “undetermined,” which raised concerns from some in the medical community.

“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,” a letter signed by 400 doctors said.

Fowler stood by his work in a statement to The Baltimore Sun, saying, “People need to do what they need to do [but] there’s a large team of forensic pathologists, with layers of supervision, and those medical examiners always did tremendous work.”

More than a decade of work will be investigated, as Fowler was the medical chief from 2002 to 2019...

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/550097-maryland-launches-review-of-cases-handled-by-ex-medical-chief-after

As problematic as the defense’s expert witness is in the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin—and he is problematic—the doctor still couldn’t manage to offer Chauvin a verified and assured escape route. The closest Dr. David Fowler, a forensic pathologist, came was an obscure game of what-ifs that had Floyd dying from causes as varied as heart disease, drug use, and car fumes.

None of the theories, however, seemed to outrank Fowler’s answer to an important element of the case. “Do you feel that Mr. Floyd should have been given immediate emergency attention to try to reverse the cardiac arrest?” Jerry Blackwell, an attorney for the prosecution, asked. The doctor responded: “As a physician, I would agree.” The central element of Chauvin’s trial, however, is cause...

Questioning centered on Fowler, a former chief medical examiner in Maryland. The doctor retired from his position in 2019 and is currently named in a lawsuit from the family of Anton Black, another Black man killed by police. "As Maryland medical examiner, Fowler claimed that Anton died of natural causes, saying that his bipolar disorder was a contributing factor, rather than the weight pressed on Anton while he was held facedown by three white officers and a white civilian," the ACLU of Maryland said in a news release on Wednesday.

Sonia Kumar, a senior staff attorney for the organization, said in a statement that "under Dr. Fowler's leadership" the Maryland medical examiner's office has been "complicit in creating false narratives about what kills Black people in police encounters, including Tyrone West, Tawon Boyd, Anton Black, and too many others." She added:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/4/14/2025941/-Forensic-pathologist-named-in-lawsuit-for-his-medical-opinion-is-best-Chauvin-defense-can-do

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1. Mother Jones

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