* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Conaway
A RESOLUTION ENTITLED
A COUNCIL RESOLUTION concerning
title
Informational Hearing - Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the Baltimore Police Department - Cause of Death
FOR the purpose of inviting the Chief Medical Examiner to report to the City Council on the number of persons in Baltimore City whose cause of death remains undetermined each year and requesting the Baltimore Police Commissioner to explain the Department’s involvement in the classification of deaths that are the subject of police investigation.
body
Recitals
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s overview of circumstances that require the office’s services is: “A death certificate must be completed by a doctor for all deaths before the body can be sent to the funeral home. When the person has a family doctor and dies from natural causes, the doctor can complete the death certificate. But if the person is not under the care of a physician or the death appears to be suspicious or unusual, the medical examiner must be notified to begin an investigation and make sure the death certificate is completed.”
While the duties of the Medical Examiner’s office appear to be clear in theory, the media has reported that this is not the case in practice in this City where the cause of hundreds of deaths cannot be determined. This past year a report addressing how the City’s Police Department keeps its list of ...
Click here for full text