{"id":344,"date":"2023-02-09T13:40:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-09T21:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/study-shows-california-counties-overseen-by-a-coroner-who-is-also-sheriff-underreport-officer-involved-deaths\/"},"modified":"2023-08-29T11:57:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T18:57:35","slug":"study-shows-california-counties-overseen-by-a-coroner-who-is-also-sheriff-underreport-officer-involved-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/study-shows-california-counties-overseen-by-a-coroner-who-is-also-sheriff-underreport-officer-involved-deaths\/","title":{"rendered":"Study shows California counties overseen by a coroner who is also sheriff underreport officer-involved deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                          \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3814-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3814-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Study shows California counties overseen by a coroner who is also sheriff underreport officer-involved deaths\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Keeping sheriff\u2019s departments and coroner\u2019s offices separate could improve reporting of officer-involved deaths, according to USC Dornsife-led research. (Image Source: iStock.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=faculty\">Faculty<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Study shows California counties overseen by a coroner who is also sheriff underreport officer-involved deaths<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Comparing national law enforcement databases with the Fatal Encounters open-source database, USC Dornsife researchers find significant discrepancies in reporting of deaths caused by police.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Ileana Wachtel<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">February 9, 2023<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 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\n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          In brief\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n      <ul>\n              <li><p>Sheriffs who assume the role of coroner underreport officer-involved homicides compared with departments where the roles are separate.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n              <li><p>Sheriffs assume the duties of the coroner in 48 of California\u2019s 58 counties.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n              <li><p>Political pressure by sheriffs may play a role in recording and classifying the cause of death when police officers are involved.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n          <\/ul>\n  <\/div>\n  \n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>High-profile incidents of deaths by police officers, such as in the cases of George Floyd in Minneapolis and, more recently, Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, have been lightning rods for social movements demanding systemic change in American policing, with calls for greater accountability and transparency, and equal protection for all.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, another persistent but less publicized issue is that sheriff departments grossly undercount officer-involved homicides in official databases that record and categorize these incidents.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps more worrisome, in counties where sheriffs assume the role of coroner, officer-involved homicides are underreported more often than in those where the functions are separate. This may lead to inaccurate recording of the cause of death, according to a first-of-its-kind study led by researchers at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n<p>In the study, titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/19253621221142473\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Do Sheriff-Coroners Underreport Officer-Involved Homicides?<\/a>,\u201d Maria Prados, associate economist at the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research, Brian Finch, professor (research) of sociology, and their colleagues drew data\u00a0from two national databases:\u00a0the Federal Bureau of Investigation\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ojjdp.gov\/ojstatbb\/ezashr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Supplementary Homicide Reports<\/a>\u00a0(SHR)\u00a0and Multiple Cause-of-Death files from the Centers for Disease Control\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/nchs\/nvss\/deaths.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Vital Statistics System<\/a>\u00a0(NVSS). They then compared the data they compiled with data from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/fatalencounters.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fatal Encounters<\/a>, an open-source database that tracks officer-involved homicides.<\/p>\n<p>Looking at California data from 2000 to 2018 from both national databases, they found significantly greater underreporting of officer-involved deaths in sheriff-coroner counties compared with counties where the agencies were separate.<\/p>\n<p>In the SHR system, the study concluded, the undercount is due to both a lack of response by state and county law enforcement agencies and the omission of relevant incidents. In the NVSS system, the reasons vary \u2014 from errors in classification and certification to more controversial reasons, including pathologists and coroners being pressured by sheriffs to influence their findings.<\/p>\n<p>Since different public agencies, each with their own unique pressures and criteria to classify homicides, manage the SHR and NVSS systems, the disparity suggests that political pressure may play an outsized role in classifying these deaths.<\/p>\n<h2>Finch found huge undercount in officer-involved deaths<\/h2>\n<p>In prior research,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s10940-021-09493-x\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Finch found<\/a>\u00a0that these official sources typically undercount annual homicides anywhere between 50% and 250%. The present research finds that this undercount is amplified in California counties with sheriff-coroners.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur research found that there is a significant discrepancy between the actual number of officer-involved homicides and the number reported by sheriff-coroners in California,\u201d Finch explained. \u201cThis underreporting is a major issue that needs to be addressed, as it undermines the public\u2019s trust in the justice system and hinders efforts to hold law enforcement accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kqed.org\/news\/11634689\/autopsy-doctors-sheriff-overrode-death-findings-to-protect-law-enforcement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">One case in 2017<\/a>, in\u00a0San Joaquin County,\u00a0demonstrated the lengths to which one sheriff would go to protect his law enforcement officers. In this incident, the sheriff-coroner was accused of changing the cause of death from \u201chomicide\u201d to \u201caccident.\u201d The doctors and technicians, including the chief forensic pathologist, Bennet Omalu, resigned in protest, leading the county Board of\u00a0Supervisors\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kqed.org\/news\/11664465\/san-joaquin-county-sheriff-stripped-of-role-in-death-investigations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to strip the sheriff of coroner duties<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Testifying before the state Senate Governance and Finance Committee, Omalu said, \u201cCalifornia has the most backward system in death investigation, is the most backward in forensic science and in forensic medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In another example in 2020, a Contra Costa County sheriff-coroner\u2019s office deemed Angelo Quinto\u2019s death a result of \u201cexcited delirium,\u201d a term sometimes attributed to sudden unexplained deaths of individuals while in police custody.<\/p>\n<p>According to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/2021\/08\/20\/death-of-angelo-quinto-after-struggle-with-cops-blamed-on-excited-delirium-a-controversial-diagnosis-the-ama-says-is-used-to-shield-police-violence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Mercury News<\/em><\/a>, Quinto lost consciousness after an officer knelt on his neck for nearly five minutes. He later died in police custody. No charges were filed against any officers involved in the incident; however, it did lead to Angelo\u2019s Law, which bans restraint tactics and facedown holds that could cause asphyxiation in California.<\/p>\n<p>The American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association have dismissed the term \u201cexcited delirium\u201d as a diagnosis of death.<\/p>\n<h2>Officials call for state policy on independent coroner\u2019s offices<\/h2>\n<p>Citing a need for greater transparency among California\u2019s sheriff departments, Assemblymember Mike Gipson sponsored a 2022 bill requiring counties to separate the offices of sheriff and coroner. Said Gipson: \u201cWhen you have a sheriff\u2019s department overseeing a medical examiner\u2019s office, and a ruling may come back questionable, we want to make sure that we remove those questions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The California Medical Association supported the bill, stating, \u201cA consistent statewide policy towards independent coroner\u2019s offices would help to ensure that medical examinations and investigations of sudden, violent, or unexplained\/suspicious deaths are conducted objectively.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The bill failed to pass in the state Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Finch remains hopeful that studies such as his will help policymakers as they work to enact reforms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout accurate data, we cannot effectively and fairly address the issue of police violence and ensure that law enforcement is held accountable for their actions when appropriate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/older-patients-willing-to-travel-longer-than-expected-for-health-care\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >How far will seniors go for a doctor visit? Often much farther than expected<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/food-insecurity-still-high-in-la-county-but-who-it-affects-is-changing\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Food insecurity remains high in L.A. County, but who it affects is changing<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/retirement-may-be-true-source-of-happiness-curve\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >What happens when society stops expecting you to work?<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Comparing national law enforcement databases with the Fatal Encounters open-source database, USC Dornsife researchers find significant discrepancies in reporting of deaths caused by police.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,24],"tags":[64,60,95,90],"class_list":["post-344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty","category-social-impact","tag-center-for-economic-and-social-research","tag-research","tag-social-sciences","tag-sociology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Study shows California counties overseen by a coroner who is also sheriff underreport officer-involved deaths<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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