I can't find a weblink for this story. It appears in the North Port edition of the Charlotte Herald - Tribune on Friday, May 26, 2006 - page 5B.
Medical examiner faces more accusationsBy ANDREA FANTA
THE ASSOCIATED PRESSTALLAHASSEE - The medical examiner who rulled that a teenager kicked and struck by boot camp guards died of a blood disorder is being accused by another family of covering up an alleged 1977 beating by police officers.
Bay County medical examiner Dr. Charles Siebert covered up the deal of Michael Niesen by ruling that he sufferend injuries in a car accident and not in a beating by officers, according to a complained filed with the state by John Niesen, the deceased's brother.
Siebert is facing a similar accustion by the family of Martin Lee Anderson, the 14-year-old boy who died last January after collapsing at a boot camp operated by teh Bay County Sherrif's Office. Siebert has denied both accusations.
Security videotape taken at the camp show Anderson struggling with up to nine guards, but Siebert ruled in his autopsy that the boy died of sickle cell disorder. A second autopsy performed by another medical examiner in March concluded that Anderson died of suffocation from
having ammonia pills forced up his nose while his mouth was covered. (Emphasis added)
"You want to know what goes on behind closed doors? These people make decisions that affect peoples' lives, and we're just supposed to sit back and take it," John Niesen said. "Don't let this happen to this young man's family."
Niesen said Siebert quashed a state investigation into his brother's death when he supported a first autopsy finding that his brother died from car accident injuries.
While he acknowledges Michael was ejected from a vehicle the night of his death, John Niesen says angry police officers fatally beat him. He showed an autopsy photo of his brother, who hasd large cuts and bruises on his head, to support his story.
Two other families joined the group to share stories about autopsies of loved ones that they accused Siebert of botching, including a m other whose son Siebert ruled committed suicide.
Another woman, Frances Terry, claims Siebert botched an autopsy when her daughter and husband died in a September 2004 Tornado.
The autopsy report of the daughter, Donna Faye Reed, was signed by Siebert and said "the prostate and gland and testes are unremarkable" - organs that belong to men. The autopsy of Reed's father, James Terry, failed to mention major scars on his body that were obvious. (Emphasis added)
The families urged Florida's medical examiners commision to revoke Siebert's license, saying they want to testify at any upcoming hearings about the doctor. Officials with the commission did not respond to a phone message left Thursday.
"These families came here as victims of Dr. Sieberts autopsy findings," said Benjamin Crump, the Tallahassee attorney representing Anderson's parents. "They believe Dr. Siebert always covers up for law enforcement. The first time is an instance, the second time is an occurence. But the third time is a pattern."
But Siebert again stood by his findings Thursday and said the accusations against him were untrue.
Please forgive any typos I missed - this was transcribed from the newspaper in front of me.
The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.
-- John Muir