Last week, counsel for Tou Thao, one of the former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd, filed an explosive motion for sanctions against the prosecution that alleges, among other things, that the testimony of Hennepin County Medical Examiner Andrew Baker in the trial of Derek Chauvin “was directly and indirectly coerced by the State and its agents” and that the former chief medical examiner for the State of Maryland, who testified for the Chauvin defense that Floyd’s death was due to cardiac arrhythmia, has been subjected to threats against his medical license.
The motion avers, in part, the following:
On May 26, 2020, Dr. Baker, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, conducted an autopsy of Mr. Floyd. On that same date, Dr. Baker advised “prosecuting attorneys” that “[t]he autopsy revealed no physical evidence suggesting that Mr. Floyd died of asphyxiation. Mr. Floyd did not exhibit signs of petechiae, damage to his airways or thyroid, brain bleeding, bone injuries, or internal bruising.”
In woke America, due process of law and the right to defend oneself in a court of law must not stand in the way of achieving social justice.
On May 29, 2020, the criminal complaint against Derek Chauvin stated that the full report of the medical examiner was pending, but that the preliminary findings “revealed no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.”
Prior to June 1, 2020, Dr. Roger Mitchell, former medical examiner for Washington, D.C., called Dr. Baker to discuss these preliminary findings. Citing an “Exhibit 1” (not accessible on the court’s website), paragraphs 5 and 6 of the motion state the following:
5. Dr. Mitchell spoke with Dr. Baker before Dr. Baker finalized his findings on June 1, 2020. Id. During the conversation between Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Baker, the following transpired:
a. Dr. Mitchell “called Baker and said first of all Baker should fire his public information officer.” Id.
b. “Then Mitchell asked [Baker] what happened, because Mitchell didn’t think it sounded like Baker’s words”. Id.
c. “Baker said that he didn’t think the neck compression played a part … ” Id.
6. Over the weekend, Dr. Mitchell thought about Dr. Baker more. Id. After the phone conversation between Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Baker, Dr. Mitchell decided he was going to release an op-ed critical of Dr. Baker’s findings in the Washington Post. Id. Dr. Mitchell first called Dr. Baker to let him know. Id. The following transpired:
a. Dr. Mitchell called Dr. “Baker first to let him know that he was going to be critical of Baker’s findings”. Id. “In this conversation, Mitchell said, you don’t want to be the medical examiner who tells everyone they didn’t see what they saw. You don’t want to be the smartest person in the room and be wrong. Said (sic) there was a way to articulate the cause and manner of death that ensures you are telling the truth about what you are observing and via all of the investigation. Mitchell said neck compression has to be in the diagnosis.” Id. (Emphasis in original.)
According to the motion, following these conversations, Dr. Baker issued a press release in which the “final autopsy findings included neck compression,” which was “contrary to Dr. Baker’s conclusion before speaking with Dr. Mitchell twice.”
The motion later addresses the purported actions of Dr. Mitchell in regard to Dr. David Fowler, former chief medical examiner of the State of Maryland, who testified for the defense in the Chauvin trial “that in his opinion the death [of Mr. Floyd] was undetermined.”
In fact, Dr. Fowler testified that Mr. Floyd died while being restrained by the police of a sudden onset cardiac arrhythmia due to his heart disease, which included high blood pressure and narrowing of the arteries. He added that the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd’s system were contributing factors as was “possible” carbon monoxide poisoning from auto exhaust.
As set forth in the motion, eight days after Dr. Fowler’s testimony, Dr. Mitchell “wrote an open letter” to Maryland’s attorney general, the director of the Maryland Department of Health, the United States attorney general, and the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, calling for an “immediate investigation into the practices of the physician [Dr. Fowler] as well as the practice of the Maryland State Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) while under his leadership.” The letter also stated that Dr. Fowler’s opinion testimony was “baseless, revealed obvious bias, and raised malpractice concerns” and “is outside the standard practice and conventions for investigating and certification of in-custody deaths”:
Our disagreement with Dr. Fowler is not a matter of opinion. Our disagreement with Dr. Fowler is a matter of ethics. The disingenuous testimony of Dr. David Fowler exposes the frailty of the current Medical Examiner/Coroner System and illustrates the lack of existing oversight and uniformity of practice. If forensic pathologists can offer such baseless opinions without penalty, then the entire criminal justice system is at risk.
The letter calls for, among other things, “Investigation into the medical license of [Dr. Fowler] for possible ethical violations associated with death in custody diagnosis.”
The letter, which was publicly circulated, has a “click to sign” feature. As reported by the Baltimore Sun, the letter was “signed by 431 doctors from around the country.”
The motion seeks disclosure of evidence purportedly in the possession of the prosecution to “determine whether Dr. Mitchell was a state-actor/agent when he threatened Dr. Baker and/or Dr. Fowler.” How that discovery will play out and whether sanctions will be imposed against the prosecution remain to be seen.
And it also is an open question as to whether the defense can prove the claim that Dr. Mitchell committed the “crime of coercion” by threatening to “unlawfully injure Dr. Baker’s trade unless Dr. Baker changed his autopsy findings.”
But, in the meantime, Dr. Mitchell’s open letter regarding Dr. Fowler’s purported “ethical violations,” which demands an “investigation into” Dr. Fowler’s medical license, seemingly supports one of the motion’s most damning allegations, to wit:
Dr. Mitchell has set the stage that he will threaten the trade and professional reputation of any physician who suggests that Mr. Floyd’s death could be labeled as “undetermined.”… Dr. Mitchell has essentially stated that any medical expert who wants to testify that Mr. Floyd’s death could be undetermined should, and will, face penalties by him. Dr. Mitchell’s accusations and spurring of legal fallacies creates a chilling effect for Mr. Thao and violates his due process rights in that it has become extraordinarily difficult to find medical experts who are willing to state that Mr. Floyd’s death was undetermined in fear of their professional reputation and licensure.
Given Dr. Mitchell’s open letter, this averment is a masterpiece of lawyerly understatement. And, placed in the context of the threatened mob violence that has permeated and polluted the prosecution of these former Minneapolis police officers, it doesn’t begin to state the enormity of the problem facing the defense.
In that regard, consider the threat sent to Barry Brodd, the retired police officer and use-of-force expert who testified during the Chauvin trial that the defendant’s actions had been reasonable and met the standards of accepted police protocols.
Within a matter of days following his testimony, Brodd’s former home in California was vandalized. According to the New York Post, three women, Rowan Dalbey, 20, Kristen Aumoithe, 34, and Amber Lucas, 35, have been arrested and charged with felony vandalism of that residence.
Lucas is reportedly a self-professed Black Lives Matter activist who attended protests in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death and is also, according to her social media, a lifestyle and wine influencer, as well as a commissioner for the Commission on the Status of Women in Sonoma County.
Police allege that the women struck the property in the early morning hours of April 17, days after Brodd testified in the Chauvin case. The trio allegedly smeared pig’s blood on the front door and garage of the residence and tossed a pig’s head onto the front porch.
“It appears the suspects in this vandalism were targeting Mr. Brodd for his testimony,” said a police spokesman. “Mr. Brodd has not lived at the residence for a number of years and is no longer a resident of California.”
And so it goes. Apparently it’s not enough to force Thao and the other police defendants to stand trial in a venue where they have no hope of having their fate decided by a fair and impartial jury uninfluenced by the threat of mob violence. Now they also must contend with the efforts of those who, by their retaliation against the Chauvin defense witnesses, have given examples of what may happen to anyone contemplating testifying on behalf of Thao and his co-defendants.
So it is that, in woke America, due process of law and the right to defend oneself in a court of law must not stand in the way of achieving social justice.
Nothing must be left to chance.
George Parry is a former federal and state prosecutor. He blogs at knowledgeisgood.net sand can be reached by email at kignet1@gmail.com.
Seems that the speed with which the pictures were being posted was 2 days. This picture is three days. The comments being presented are very well thought out and informative but it appears that the moderator is not adding anything but pictures. I believe that Gerard built this site with the intent of throwing stimulating “whatevers” to his followers to challenge them, stimulate their gray matter. . It is my opinion that whoever runs this site now would do justice by letting you, ghostsniper, do a daily editorial on which visitors can comment. Ghostsniper, you offer a lot of stimulating thoughts/comments. Gerard would be happy.
ghostsniperOctober 24, 2023, 6:58 AM
Joe, Neo is the sysop that now runs AD, as directed/asked, by Gerard.
She creates a new thread 3 times per week, about 11am, Mon, Wed, Fri.
Neo has her own blog https://www.thenewneo.com/ where she posts her own content, go check it out. I don’t comment there because I think I rub her the wrong way. shrug
Her obligation to AD is minimal and she does it fine.
It is up to us, “We, The Living” (in the words of “THAT WOMAN!”) to add content as we see fit.
I try to add a variety of things that interest me and may interest others. Presently I am staying out of all that jewish-palestinian nonsense that has been going on. Seems you can’t have an opinion or ask any questions without some <70IQ getting their thong in a twist and start railing like a 3 yo. So I stay out. Plus, there is the probability that it just the next thing on the never ending conveyor belt of mayhem perpetrated by this rotten assed gov't.
I have a full time job as an architect and as a partly retired person that has earned it so I'm not very diligent about my posting habits and expect to keep it that way.
My understanding is that 1 year after Gerard's passing AD will shut down. (maybe she said 2 years, don't remember) But the point is no one lives forever and eventually AD will pass too. It won't pass to me because running a blog properly is just like working a job, but with even more restrictions. I don't do well with restrictions.
Believe me when I tell you that what Gerard had going on here was monumental in effort. Second to none really. I don't know of any one person that could fill his shoes in that regard. Most likely it would require the efforts of 4 or more people simultaneously. The dood was an absolute blog monster!
It would be nice if AD could some how continue indefinitely if for no other reason than I like the name and the fact that it has a patriotic ring to it. "American Digest", doesn't that sound majestic? Sort of symbolic of the America many of us were born and bred in during a time when things and people mattered.
azlibertarianOctober 24, 2023, 3:24 PM
“….’American Digest’, doesn’t that sound majestic?…”
Agreed…it does sound majestic, and FWIW, I stole, fair and square, like all my good ideas, Gerard’s “Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith” for the masthead of my Twitter page. Or X. Or whatever I’m supposed to call it.
Obviously, we each only look at the portions of the internet that we have time for, and we have no idea what might be found in the great unseen unknown. But I haven’t found a better, or more decent place than the one that Gerard created for us here.
Casey KlahnOctober 24, 2023, 7:49 AM
Last night I had a nagging thought of Hamas coming into American communities, flying from the sky like Ozillian monkeys and bearing AKMs. I know even the conservative media I consume has a large degree of manure or fodder, and manipulation comes into it from various places.
However this morning you have Trump saying the same warning about Hamas threatening the US physically. Last week I think I wrote something here about the broader war that is immigrants overrunning Europe and the US. In my tactical mind I’m wondering how you’d counter a squad of AK-wielding sky monkeys. Imagine you’re in DC or NYC and from some rooftop assembly area these clowns raid down upon: a Pro Palestine protest!
Ladies and gentleman, you can hate on Israel enough, and love on Palestine enough, that your dumbasz mindset will manifest itself right in your own back yard.
Switch to Ukraine. Everyone’s favorite subject. The milbloggers admit that the Ukes, while having probably somewhat adequate amounts of weaponry and ammunition, at the same time have a finite pool of manpower. Their initiative that has been enjoyed for the past few seasons is slowing and may be handed back to Russia for the time being. The strategic answer there is to have some allies with the thing you need: soldiers. NATO members won’t join in because it’s WWIII if they do. With a friend like NATO, who needs enemies? What a situation!
America, led by Joe Biden, could get involved in any number of conflicts with soldiers. I don’t GAF about air and navy (except around Taiwan). If soldiers go to any of these hot zones, we have precisely what the democrats have as much as promised us: another war, and a very big one. I’m not an isolationist conservative, as you know. I subscribe to the Reagan and VDH version of deterrence. I loved the Trumpian policy of no new wars, no way and no how.
I wonder if Biden is having made a nice Napoleonic uniform, with like the great coat and the tri-sided hat and all? I think he’d look perfect that way.
azlibertarianOctober 24, 2023, 3:42 PM
Casey, this October 7 thingi is troubling me just like 9/11 did. About 3 nights a week…sometimes more…I find that I’m not sleeping well. I get up for that 4am trip to the bathroom that all men older than 60 make, and when I get back to bed, the horrors enter my mind. They’re very, very difficult to shake.
I’ve mentioned to Mrs. azlib, and one neighbor, an idea to get some of us together to prepare, in our own way, for something like a Hamas attack. I live in a nicer, gated-community, and the realist in me understands that there has to be 5000 of these in the Phoenix area alone, and so on that basis alone, we’re unlikely to be a target of any organized attack. But I can’t help but ask myself “But what if we were? What would we, or I do? How would those of us who are armed keep from shooting the other armed homeowners?” As I said, I’m in my 60’s, and I have never been “That guy” who just has to get to the gym/P90/Crossfit routine every day. I’ve got plenty of rifles and enough ammo and a couple-three times a year I go to the flat, square range and poke holes in targets out to 300 yards. But I’m doing that under no time pressure, in daylight and nobody’s shooting back. No plates. No plate carriers. No helmets. No night vision. What about comm’s? I don’t know how to “stack up” much less who I’d stack up with.
But how much of that do I really need? How much of a threat does Hamas (or those of like minds) really pose to the average American? Comparing the weight of that threat against the hassle and expense of LARPing myself into the neighborhood National Guard isn’t an easy task.
ghostsniperOctober 24, 2023, 5:32 PM
Is there one other person, other than your wife, in your immediate family that you can converse with openly?
I’m talking about someone that can stick another mag in your AR when your subordinate hand is inoperable? Someone that can install a femur tourniquet? Someone that mostly understands you?
If not, you should work on that. But be slow and careful, never divulge too much.
If there is someone like that, then you should investigate FMRS radios so that the 2 of you can communicate if the grid goes down. FMRS is good up to about 1/2 to 1 mile in ideal flat flat terrain. Beyond that you have to send more money and time and effort. That is where I’m at right now.
Last week I ordered the parts to create a ground plane for the antenna mast I want to erect. In the parts I ordered a very small set screw was missing. sigh Rendering the whole thing inoperable. An email to seller and he’s sending me another set screw but that is one more week I have to wait to see if this thing works. It’s frustrating. Already I have been working on this small antenna mast for several months – doing research, reading stuff, viewing videos, reading more stuff, shopping for components, etc. I’m self taught in all of this and none of it comes naturally for me. I have way more questions than answers. But under girding all of it is that I believe alternate ways to communicate with other people, perhaps people on my team, is essential. Communication is the one thing that separates humans from animals. So I have to keep trying.
Don’t despair, think micro rather than macro. small bites
azlibertarianOctober 24, 2023, 9:57 PM
Yeah, our son lives with us and he’s perfectly capable of shouldering his own AR. Of the 3 of us in our home, I’m the only one who’s been through a Stop The Bleed (which I recommend and I should go again). I’ve thought about comms from an internal SHTF vantage, and I have 3 Baofeng Ham band handy-talkies. Son and I took 2 on a hunting trip, but we’ve never pushed the transmit button….didn’t have the need and haven’t taken the trouble to get the license (a stupid requirement, but whatever). Sprinkling GMRS radios throughout the community might be a good set up, but the problem will be that they’re licensed by family and some knucklehead will want to hear about everyone’s license.
And as your question implies, assessing the character of my neighbors is the struggle I’m having. As I said, its an upscale neighborhood and there are a number of very successful guys in various fields. But I know right up front that half of them are going to be completely useless. I’m okay with that. My problem is with the usefulness of the helpful half. One of my neighbors is a retired Army Sgt. Major and spent about half of his career as a medic. On paper, that’s a great skillset to have, but he’s also recently retired from his second career….as a Federal Marshal. Again, nice guy, accomplished, but my alarm bells are right on the verge of ringing. Multiple that times hundred across the neighborhood.
azlibertarianOctober 24, 2023, 10:01 PM
“Multiple” should be “multiply”.
TerryOctober 25, 2023, 7:02 PM
Appears you live in a suburb of some sort or similar domicile. You are trapped and captive already. No amount of neighborhood watch is going to make you an effective defense against the islambos that are already in the US. These people are trained killers and looking forward to killing infidels. Add to that, CCP invaders, ANTIFA, etc., etc.
You are in most likely the worst of situations. When the fires start you are done for. My intent is not to scare people, but wake them up to reality. No amount of ammo and guns can make up for an enemy that has you encircled with trained, dedicated savages. Your own state dot gov is certainly not your friend as well.
Suggestion: Get out while you can. Arizona is an enemy camp, swarming with turd worlders.
Best not to trust neighbors for ANYTHING unless you know them very, very well.
John A. FlemingOctober 24, 2023, 8:01 PM
Fine. Agent provocateurs from several adversaries are crossing the border. Then what? They need money, lots of money, to buy motorcycles, drones, and materials for making payloads. They can’t buy guns legally, so they will have to go black market. Money, guns, materials, drones risk exposure to the authorities.
Ok, too complicated, too risky. What instead? Backpack IEDs with household chemicals and materials. Knives and machetes.
Man, I’m not seeing it, I guess I’m not wearing my black-hat tonight, how incoming saboteurs can ever be deep-cover and still be large-scale effective at go-hour.
Unless, the cartels are allied with the foreign adversaries to import materials and guns and bigger stuff. With our out-of-control border, such is now possible. Man, that’s an awful lot of corruption, to be able to import first into MX and then into EEUU and not get caught and rolled up. The cartels have the supply lines already in place, they probably wouldn’t mind helping the adversaries sow chaos in the USA, as long as they got a vig of the goods.
Ehh, the feds are too busy working from home and chasing after getting the goods on MAGA, to go after the danger close of the cartels. I guess I just found my black-hat.
ghostsniperOctober 24, 2023, 9:46 AM
2 links
This is about as close as I’m going to get to it.
It has occurred to me that with each “new” event from the gov’t-media complex the effort seems to be, or have the effect of, dividing “We the people” (WTP) into a finer and finer aggregate.
Essentially, blm divided WTP into groups, then covid divided WTP into finer groups, then ukraine divided WTP into even finer groups, and now the ME debacle (if it even happened) divides us again.
Each of the past 4 years have been this way.
Through time and effort, like a million tiny hammers, they keep pounding the immense granite boulder known as America, and gradually the rock is reduced to rubble, then sand.
Eventually, like a modern day Babel, no 2 minds can coalesce on anything at all.
As much as I like the man, T Carlson is mistake after mistake after mistake on the war policy front. Let’s hope is just as wrong here as ever.
AnneOctober 24, 2023, 9:15 PM
I am stressed mostly by the members of the R party who “want to compromise”. I know Republican leadership here in my own state that are truly afraid–they have been threatened–they cannot win again because since the last election all of our election systems have been put on computer and the ballots go in mailboxes. Period. No more ability to prove an election. So what do the Republicans try to do? Save something. Some aspects of the old America, but they are too poorly educated and afraid of losing. The daily downfall of Donald Trump is a lesson to every human being who voted for Trump and the Republican leadership knows this is deliberately aimed at them as individuals. Thus we have a collection of cowards who want to “compromise”. What you/we need is to find like-minded individuals who will peacefully organize en masse and carry signs to every city council vote, to every court case hearing, etc. To become visible in a very big way. The Pro-Palestine demonstrations have shown how effective large demonstrations can be, but unlike the recent demonstrations they must remain peaceful–given that we no longer have a voice at the ballot box.
TerryOctober 25, 2023, 7:13 PM
Very well stated Anne. Cowards are what the repub party has sunk too.
Another odd, to me anyway, is how dumb our side as voters has become. Tell someone a factual, proven statement and you are seen as a conspiracy “theorist”. Example, Maui incineration and coverup.
AnneOctober 24, 2023, 9:17 PM
I believe that most of the republican leadership now understands completely that we no longer have a system of clean elections. The Republicans KNOW that Davos has taken over.
Casey, The interview is with Col. Douglas MacGregor. I believe his credentials are very trustworthy when it comes to military matters. Possibly I have missed some of Tucker’s mistakes but I am not familiar with Tucker ever being wrong in his many years–thousands of shows–about war policy.
Real World Address for Donations, Mash Notes and Hate Mail
Gerard Van der Leun
1692 MANGROVE AVE
APT 379
Chico, Ca 95926
Green Pants Interior by Klahn
Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.
My feet are on the hilltops.
My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of universal life.
Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.
I have been to hell and back many times.
I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.
I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.
I know the passionate seizure of beauty
And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
They thought great thoughts about liberty
Poets wrote down words that did fit
Writers wrote books
Thinkers thought about it
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
Many’s the road I have walked upon
Many’s the hour between dusk and dawn
Many’s the time
Many’s the mile
I see it all now
Through the eyes of a child
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
You will build on whatever is real
And wake up each day
To a new waking dream
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
Gerard Van der Leun
Comments on this entry are closed.
rubiks reality
The Economic Costs of the Israeli Occupation for the Palestinian People: The Unrealized Oil and Natural Gas Potential
https://unctad.org/publication/economic-costs-israeli-occupation-palestinian-people-unrealized-oil-and-natural-gas
One more time.
Lies upon lies….
Last week, counsel for Tou Thao, one of the former Minneapolis police officers charged in the death of George Floyd, filed an explosive motion for sanctions against the prosecution that alleges, among other things, that the testimony of Hennepin County Medical Examiner Andrew Baker in the trial of Derek Chauvin “was directly and indirectly coerced by the State and its agents” and that the former chief medical examiner for the State of Maryland, who testified for the Chauvin defense that Floyd’s death was due to cardiac arrhythmia, has been subjected to threats against his medical license.
The motion avers, in part, the following:
On May 26, 2020, Dr. Baker, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner, conducted an autopsy of Mr. Floyd. On that same date, Dr. Baker advised “prosecuting attorneys” that “[t]he autopsy revealed no physical evidence suggesting that Mr. Floyd died of asphyxiation. Mr. Floyd did not exhibit signs of petechiae, damage to his airways or thyroid, brain bleeding, bone injuries, or internal bruising.”
In woke America, due process of law and the right to defend oneself in a court of law must not stand in the way of achieving social justice.
On May 29, 2020, the criminal complaint against Derek Chauvin stated that the full report of the medical examiner was pending, but that the preliminary findings “revealed no physical findings that support a diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.”
Prior to June 1, 2020, Dr. Roger Mitchell, former medical examiner for Washington, D.C., called Dr. Baker to discuss these preliminary findings. Citing an “Exhibit 1” (not accessible on the court’s website), paragraphs 5 and 6 of the motion state the following:
5. Dr. Mitchell spoke with Dr. Baker before Dr. Baker finalized his findings on June 1, 2020. Id. During the conversation between Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Baker, the following transpired:
a. Dr. Mitchell “called Baker and said first of all Baker should fire his public information officer.” Id.
b. “Then Mitchell asked [Baker] what happened, because Mitchell didn’t think it sounded like Baker’s words”. Id.
c. “Baker said that he didn’t think the neck compression played a part … ” Id.
6. Over the weekend, Dr. Mitchell thought about Dr. Baker more. Id. After the phone conversation between Dr. Mitchell and Dr. Baker, Dr. Mitchell decided he was going to release an op-ed critical of Dr. Baker’s findings in the Washington Post. Id. Dr. Mitchell first called Dr. Baker to let him know. Id. The following transpired:
a. Dr. Mitchell called Dr. “Baker first to let him know that he was going to be critical of Baker’s findings”. Id. “In this conversation, Mitchell said, you don’t want to be the medical examiner who tells everyone they didn’t see what they saw. You don’t want to be the smartest person in the room and be wrong. Said (sic) there was a way to articulate the cause and manner of death that ensures you are telling the truth about what you are observing and via all of the investigation. Mitchell said neck compression has to be in the diagnosis.” Id. (Emphasis in original.)
According to the motion, following these conversations, Dr. Baker issued a press release in which the “final autopsy findings included neck compression,” which was “contrary to Dr. Baker’s conclusion before speaking with Dr. Mitchell twice.”
The motion later addresses the purported actions of Dr. Mitchell in regard to Dr. David Fowler, former chief medical examiner of the State of Maryland, who testified for the defense in the Chauvin trial “that in his opinion the death [of Mr. Floyd] was undetermined.”
In fact, Dr. Fowler testified that Mr. Floyd died while being restrained by the police of a sudden onset cardiac arrhythmia due to his heart disease, which included high blood pressure and narrowing of the arteries. He added that the presence of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Floyd’s system were contributing factors as was “possible” carbon monoxide poisoning from auto exhaust.
As set forth in the motion, eight days after Dr. Fowler’s testimony, Dr. Mitchell “wrote an open letter” to Maryland’s attorney general, the director of the Maryland Department of Health, the United States attorney general, and the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, calling for an “immediate investigation into the practices of the physician [Dr. Fowler] as well as the practice of the Maryland State Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) while under his leadership.” The letter also stated that Dr. Fowler’s opinion testimony was “baseless, revealed obvious bias, and raised malpractice concerns” and “is outside the standard practice and conventions for investigating and certification of in-custody deaths”:
Our disagreement with Dr. Fowler is not a matter of opinion. Our disagreement with Dr. Fowler is a matter of ethics. The disingenuous testimony of Dr. David Fowler exposes the frailty of the current Medical Examiner/Coroner System and illustrates the lack of existing oversight and uniformity of practice. If forensic pathologists can offer such baseless opinions without penalty, then the entire criminal justice system is at risk.
The letter calls for, among other things, “Investigation into the medical license of [Dr. Fowler] for possible ethical violations associated with death in custody diagnosis.”
The letter, which was publicly circulated, has a “click to sign” feature. As reported by the Baltimore Sun, the letter was “signed by 431 doctors from around the country.”
The motion seeks disclosure of evidence purportedly in the possession of the prosecution to “determine whether Dr. Mitchell was a state-actor/agent when he threatened Dr. Baker and/or Dr. Fowler.” How that discovery will play out and whether sanctions will be imposed against the prosecution remain to be seen.
And it also is an open question as to whether the defense can prove the claim that Dr. Mitchell committed the “crime of coercion” by threatening to “unlawfully injure Dr. Baker’s trade unless Dr. Baker changed his autopsy findings.”
But, in the meantime, Dr. Mitchell’s open letter regarding Dr. Fowler’s purported “ethical violations,” which demands an “investigation into” Dr. Fowler’s medical license, seemingly supports one of the motion’s most damning allegations, to wit:
Dr. Mitchell has set the stage that he will threaten the trade and professional reputation of any physician who suggests that Mr. Floyd’s death could be labeled as “undetermined.”… Dr. Mitchell has essentially stated that any medical expert who wants to testify that Mr. Floyd’s death could be undetermined should, and will, face penalties by him. Dr. Mitchell’s accusations and spurring of legal fallacies creates a chilling effect for Mr. Thao and violates his due process rights in that it has become extraordinarily difficult to find medical experts who are willing to state that Mr. Floyd’s death was undetermined in fear of their professional reputation and licensure.
Given Dr. Mitchell’s open letter, this averment is a masterpiece of lawyerly understatement. And, placed in the context of the threatened mob violence that has permeated and polluted the prosecution of these former Minneapolis police officers, it doesn’t begin to state the enormity of the problem facing the defense.
In that regard, consider the threat sent to Barry Brodd, the retired police officer and use-of-force expert who testified during the Chauvin trial that the defendant’s actions had been reasonable and met the standards of accepted police protocols.
Within a matter of days following his testimony, Brodd’s former home in California was vandalized. According to the New York Post, three women, Rowan Dalbey, 20, Kristen Aumoithe, 34, and Amber Lucas, 35, have been arrested and charged with felony vandalism of that residence.
Lucas is reportedly a self-professed Black Lives Matter activist who attended protests in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death and is also, according to her social media, a lifestyle and wine influencer, as well as a commissioner for the Commission on the Status of Women in Sonoma County.
Police allege that the women struck the property in the early morning hours of April 17, days after Brodd testified in the Chauvin case. The trio allegedly smeared pig’s blood on the front door and garage of the residence and tossed a pig’s head onto the front porch.
“It appears the suspects in this vandalism were targeting Mr. Brodd for his testimony,” said a police spokesman. “Mr. Brodd has not lived at the residence for a number of years and is no longer a resident of California.”
And so it goes. Apparently it’s not enough to force Thao and the other police defendants to stand trial in a venue where they have no hope of having their fate decided by a fair and impartial jury uninfluenced by the threat of mob violence. Now they also must contend with the efforts of those who, by their retaliation against the Chauvin defense witnesses, have given examples of what may happen to anyone contemplating testifying on behalf of Thao and his co-defendants.
So it is that, in woke America, due process of law and the right to defend oneself in a court of law must not stand in the way of achieving social justice.
Nothing must be left to chance.
George Parry is a former federal and state prosecutor. He blogs at knowledgeisgood.net sand can be reached by email at kignet1@gmail.com.
https://spectator.org/chauvin-floyd-cause-of-death/
Three day speed now. Hmmmm.
What does that mean Joe?
Seems that the speed with which the pictures were being posted was 2 days. This picture is three days. The comments being presented are very well thought out and informative but it appears that the moderator is not adding anything but pictures. I believe that Gerard built this site with the intent of throwing stimulating “whatevers” to his followers to challenge them, stimulate their gray matter. . It is my opinion that whoever runs this site now would do justice by letting you, ghostsniper, do a daily editorial on which visitors can comment. Ghostsniper, you offer a lot of stimulating thoughts/comments. Gerard would be happy.
Joe, Neo is the sysop that now runs AD, as directed/asked, by Gerard.
She creates a new thread 3 times per week, about 11am, Mon, Wed, Fri.
Neo has her own blog https://www.thenewneo.com/ where she posts her own content, go check it out. I don’t comment there because I think I rub her the wrong way. shrug
Her obligation to AD is minimal and she does it fine.
It is up to us, “We, The Living” (in the words of “THAT WOMAN!”) to add content as we see fit.
I try to add a variety of things that interest me and may interest others. Presently I am staying out of all that jewish-palestinian nonsense that has been going on. Seems you can’t have an opinion or ask any questions without some <70IQ getting their thong in a twist and start railing like a 3 yo. So I stay out. Plus, there is the probability that it just the next thing on the never ending conveyor belt of mayhem perpetrated by this rotten assed gov't.
I have a full time job as an architect and as a partly retired person that has earned it so I'm not very diligent about my posting habits and expect to keep it that way.
My understanding is that 1 year after Gerard's passing AD will shut down. (maybe she said 2 years, don't remember) But the point is no one lives forever and eventually AD will pass too. It won't pass to me because running a blog properly is just like working a job, but with even more restrictions. I don't do well with restrictions.
Believe me when I tell you that what Gerard had going on here was monumental in effort. Second to none really. I don't know of any one person that could fill his shoes in that regard. Most likely it would require the efforts of 4 or more people simultaneously. The dood was an absolute blog monster!
It would be nice if AD could some how continue indefinitely if for no other reason than I like the name and the fact that it has a patriotic ring to it. "American Digest", doesn't that sound majestic? Sort of symbolic of the America many of us were born and bred in during a time when things and people mattered.
“….’American Digest’, doesn’t that sound majestic?…”
Agreed…it does sound majestic, and FWIW, I stole, fair and square, like all my good ideas, Gerard’s “Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith” for the masthead of my Twitter page. Or X. Or whatever I’m supposed to call it.
Obviously, we each only look at the portions of the internet that we have time for, and we have no idea what might be found in the great unseen unknown. But I haven’t found a better, or more decent place than the one that Gerard created for us here.
Last night I had a nagging thought of Hamas coming into American communities, flying from the sky like Ozillian monkeys and bearing AKMs. I know even the conservative media I consume has a large degree of manure or fodder, and manipulation comes into it from various places.
However this morning you have Trump saying the same warning about Hamas threatening the US physically. Last week I think I wrote something here about the broader war that is immigrants overrunning Europe and the US. In my tactical mind I’m wondering how you’d counter a squad of AK-wielding sky monkeys. Imagine you’re in DC or NYC and from some rooftop assembly area these clowns raid down upon: a Pro Palestine protest!
Ladies and gentleman, you can hate on Israel enough, and love on Palestine enough, that your dumbasz mindset will manifest itself right in your own back yard.
Switch to Ukraine. Everyone’s favorite subject. The milbloggers admit that the Ukes, while having probably somewhat adequate amounts of weaponry and ammunition, at the same time have a finite pool of manpower. Their initiative that has been enjoyed for the past few seasons is slowing and may be handed back to Russia for the time being. The strategic answer there is to have some allies with the thing you need: soldiers. NATO members won’t join in because it’s WWIII if they do. With a friend like NATO, who needs enemies? What a situation!
America, led by Joe Biden, could get involved in any number of conflicts with soldiers. I don’t GAF about air and navy (except around Taiwan). If soldiers go to any of these hot zones, we have precisely what the democrats have as much as promised us: another war, and a very big one. I’m not an isolationist conservative, as you know. I subscribe to the Reagan and VDH version of deterrence. I loved the Trumpian policy of no new wars, no way and no how.
I wonder if Biden is having made a nice Napoleonic uniform, with like the great coat and the tri-sided hat and all? I think he’d look perfect that way.
Casey, this October 7 thingi is troubling me just like 9/11 did. About 3 nights a week…sometimes more…I find that I’m not sleeping well. I get up for that 4am trip to the bathroom that all men older than 60 make, and when I get back to bed, the horrors enter my mind. They’re very, very difficult to shake.
I’ve mentioned to Mrs. azlib, and one neighbor, an idea to get some of us together to prepare, in our own way, for something like a Hamas attack. I live in a nicer, gated-community, and the realist in me understands that there has to be 5000 of these in the Phoenix area alone, and so on that basis alone, we’re unlikely to be a target of any organized attack. But I can’t help but ask myself “But what if we were? What would we, or I do? How would those of us who are armed keep from shooting the other armed homeowners?” As I said, I’m in my 60’s, and I have never been “That guy” who just has to get to the gym/P90/Crossfit routine every day. I’ve got plenty of rifles and enough ammo and a couple-three times a year I go to the flat, square range and poke holes in targets out to 300 yards. But I’m doing that under no time pressure, in daylight and nobody’s shooting back. No plates. No plate carriers. No helmets. No night vision. What about comm’s? I don’t know how to “stack up” much less who I’d stack up with.
But how much of that do I really need? How much of a threat does Hamas (or those of like minds) really pose to the average American? Comparing the weight of that threat against the hassle and expense of LARPing myself into the neighborhood National Guard isn’t an easy task.
Is there one other person, other than your wife, in your immediate family that you can converse with openly?
I’m talking about someone that can stick another mag in your AR when your subordinate hand is inoperable? Someone that can install a femur tourniquet? Someone that mostly understands you?
If not, you should work on that. But be slow and careful, never divulge too much.
If there is someone like that, then you should investigate FMRS radios so that the 2 of you can communicate if the grid goes down. FMRS is good up to about 1/2 to 1 mile in ideal flat flat terrain. Beyond that you have to send more money and time and effort. That is where I’m at right now.
Last week I ordered the parts to create a ground plane for the antenna mast I want to erect. In the parts I ordered a very small set screw was missing. sigh Rendering the whole thing inoperable. An email to seller and he’s sending me another set screw but that is one more week I have to wait to see if this thing works. It’s frustrating. Already I have been working on this small antenna mast for several months – doing research, reading stuff, viewing videos, reading more stuff, shopping for components, etc. I’m self taught in all of this and none of it comes naturally for me. I have way more questions than answers. But under girding all of it is that I believe alternate ways to communicate with other people, perhaps people on my team, is essential. Communication is the one thing that separates humans from animals. So I have to keep trying.
Don’t despair, think micro rather than macro. small bites
Yeah, our son lives with us and he’s perfectly capable of shouldering his own AR. Of the 3 of us in our home, I’m the only one who’s been through a Stop The Bleed (which I recommend and I should go again). I’ve thought about comms from an internal SHTF vantage, and I have 3 Baofeng Ham band handy-talkies. Son and I took 2 on a hunting trip, but we’ve never pushed the transmit button….didn’t have the need and haven’t taken the trouble to get the license (a stupid requirement, but whatever). Sprinkling GMRS radios throughout the community might be a good set up, but the problem will be that they’re licensed by family and some knucklehead will want to hear about everyone’s license.
And as your question implies, assessing the character of my neighbors is the struggle I’m having. As I said, its an upscale neighborhood and there are a number of very successful guys in various fields. But I know right up front that half of them are going to be completely useless. I’m okay with that. My problem is with the usefulness of the helpful half. One of my neighbors is a retired Army Sgt. Major and spent about half of his career as a medic. On paper, that’s a great skillset to have, but he’s also recently retired from his second career….as a Federal Marshal. Again, nice guy, accomplished, but my alarm bells are right on the verge of ringing. Multiple that times hundred across the neighborhood.
“Multiple” should be “multiply”.
Appears you live in a suburb of some sort or similar domicile. You are trapped and captive already. No amount of neighborhood watch is going to make you an effective defense against the islambos that are already in the US. These people are trained killers and looking forward to killing infidels. Add to that, CCP invaders, ANTIFA, etc., etc.
You are in most likely the worst of situations. When the fires start you are done for. My intent is not to scare people, but wake them up to reality. No amount of ammo and guns can make up for an enemy that has you encircled with trained, dedicated savages. Your own state dot gov is certainly not your friend as well.
Suggestion: Get out while you can. Arizona is an enemy camp, swarming with turd worlders.
Best not to trust neighbors for ANYTHING unless you know them very, very well.
Fine. Agent provocateurs from several adversaries are crossing the border. Then what? They need money, lots of money, to buy motorcycles, drones, and materials for making payloads. They can’t buy guns legally, so they will have to go black market. Money, guns, materials, drones risk exposure to the authorities.
Ok, too complicated, too risky. What instead? Backpack IEDs with household chemicals and materials. Knives and machetes.
Man, I’m not seeing it, I guess I’m not wearing my black-hat tonight, how incoming saboteurs can ever be deep-cover and still be large-scale effective at go-hour.
Unless, the cartels are allied with the foreign adversaries to import materials and guns and bigger stuff. With our out-of-control border, such is now possible. Man, that’s an awful lot of corruption, to be able to import first into MX and then into EEUU and not get caught and rolled up. The cartels have the supply lines already in place, they probably wouldn’t mind helping the adversaries sow chaos in the USA, as long as they got a vig of the goods.
Ehh, the feds are too busy working from home and chasing after getting the goods on MAGA, to go after the danger close of the cartels. I guess I just found my black-hat.
2 links
This is about as close as I’m going to get to it.
https://www.arthursido.com/2023/10/its-always-germany-in-the-1940s.html
https://bigcountryexpat.com/index.php/2023/10/24/war-what-war-i-have-no-knowledge-of-such-a-thing/
It has occurred to me that with each “new” event from the gov’t-media complex the effort seems to be, or have the effect of, dividing “We the people” (WTP) into a finer and finer aggregate.
Essentially, blm divided WTP into groups, then covid divided WTP into finer groups, then ukraine divided WTP into even finer groups, and now the ME debacle (if it even happened) divides us again.
Each of the past 4 years have been this way.
Through time and effort, like a million tiny hammers, they keep pounding the immense granite boulder known as America, and gradually the rock is reduced to rubble, then sand.
Eventually, like a modern day Babel, no 2 minds can coalesce on anything at all.
Can you see this?
At approximately 9 minutes plus this gets real heavy. It appears that we are already loosing troops–our elite troops no less.
https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson/status/1716574971206500570
As much as I like the man, T Carlson is mistake after mistake after mistake on the war policy front. Let’s hope is just as wrong here as ever.
I am stressed mostly by the members of the R party who “want to compromise”. I know Republican leadership here in my own state that are truly afraid–they have been threatened–they cannot win again because since the last election all of our election systems have been put on computer and the ballots go in mailboxes. Period. No more ability to prove an election. So what do the Republicans try to do? Save something. Some aspects of the old America, but they are too poorly educated and afraid of losing. The daily downfall of Donald Trump is a lesson to every human being who voted for Trump and the Republican leadership knows this is deliberately aimed at them as individuals. Thus we have a collection of cowards who want to “compromise”. What you/we need is to find like-minded individuals who will peacefully organize en masse and carry signs to every city council vote, to every court case hearing, etc. To become visible in a very big way. The Pro-Palestine demonstrations have shown how effective large demonstrations can be, but unlike the recent demonstrations they must remain peaceful–given that we no longer have a voice at the ballot box.
Very well stated Anne. Cowards are what the repub party has sunk too.
Another odd, to me anyway, is how dumb our side as voters has become. Tell someone a factual, proven statement and you are seen as a conspiracy “theorist”. Example, Maui incineration and coverup.
I believe that most of the republican leadership now understands completely that we no longer have a system of clean elections. The Republicans KNOW that Davos has taken over.
Casey, The interview is with Col. Douglas MacGregor. I believe his credentials are very trustworthy when it comes to military matters. Possibly I have missed some of Tucker’s mistakes but I am not familiar with Tucker ever being wrong in his many years–thousands of shows–about war policy.