NCJ Number
137113
Journal
Journal of Crime and Justice Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: (1991) Pages: 149- 173
Date Published
1991
Length
15 pages
Annotation
On May 13, 1986, the Philadelphia police confronted members of the MOVE group, a loosely-knit "back to nature" organization which shunned and offended traditional societal rules; the police used tear gas, smoke projectiles, and bombs dropped from a State police helicopter. Eleven MOVE members were killed. The Commission formed by local, State, and Federal officials to investigate the incident surveyed the conduct of the various law enforcement agencies involved, including the medical examiner's office.
Abstract
The Commission found the Office of the Medical Examiner to be unprofessional in its conduct, claiming the office had failed to conduct a proper investigation, had not stored the bodies at the proper temperature to prevent deterioration, had incorrectly identified a body, and had co-mingled some evidence. The author notes that these findings relied on outside expert evidence because there are no standardized guidelines in pathological practice. In addition to the paucity of nationalized practices, there is a parochial lack of regulatory and legislative oversight of forensic laboratories and medical examiners. Finally, the Commission seemed to hold the medical examiner's office responsible for failure to coordinate and control the search for evidence, crime scene diagrams, location stakes, and sequential photography, functions which should have been carried out by the city's police and fire departments. 21 references