The Police Called it an Accident; the Death of Christopher Eisinger

The New York Times article details how in March 2018, Katrina Eisinger received a call that her 35 year old son Christopher dropped off at a hospital after an altercation with the Anaheim Police Department; Christopher was in a coma, brain dead, and was thereafter taken off life support. The official autopsy conducted by the hospital took place with four members of the sheriff’s department’s forensic team, and two officers from the Anaheim police department present. Christopher’s death was concluded as ‘sudden cardiac arrest due to heart disease and the effects of methamphetamine’, the manner of death was determined as accidental. Katrina was uncomfortable with this determination, remembering the bruises all over her son’s body and his battered face; she contacted 1-800-AUTOPSY, a private autopsy business in LA county. In the private autopsy report, the cause of death was determined as resulting from “an altercation with multiple officers during restraint or arrest"; not accidental. In March of 2021, the civil trial for Christopher Eisinger began, running during the same time the Chauvin trial was taking place. Nine days after George Floyd’s killer was convicted, Christopher Eisinger’s death was determined by the courts as a result of excessive force; 2.275 million dollars in damages was awarded to his family. Evidently, subjectivity plays a key role in pathology and determinations of death, ultimately impacting the proceedings of the criminal justice system and its ability to instil accountability in all players in the system; police included.

More information can be found at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/08/magazine/the-police-called-it-an-accident-she-turned-to-1-800-autopsy.html