Police Department officials said they never tried to stop the Health Department from making the findings public. Oxiris Barbot, Dr. Bassett’s successor at the Health Department, which is responsible for reporting all deaths in New York, still hasn’t published the report. The city’s chief medical examiner, Barbara Sampson, was also involved in the review. Asked about the three-year delay in reporting, a Health Department spokesman blamed the demands of the coronavirus pandemic. In some cases, police activity wasn’t indicated on medical examiner reports, leading the Health Department to misclassify the deaths.

Source: New York Times June 19, 2020 19:18 UTC