The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence

About this episode

The episode discusses the hidden victims of police violence and the complicity of coroners in obscuring the circumstances of in-custody deaths.

Each year, police officers kill over 1,000 people they’ve sworn to protect and serve. While some cases, like George Floyd’s and Sandra Bland’s, capture national attention, most victims remain nameless, their stories untold. The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence (Beacon Press, 2025) reveals a disturbing truth about these cases: coroners and other death investigators are often complicit in obscuring the violent circumstances of in-custody deaths. Through rigorous research—including critical records analysis, public health studies, and interviews with victims’ families—this book unmasks the systemic failures within forensic medicine. Dr. Terence Keel shows how incomplete autopsy reports, mishandled medical documents, and strategically lost evidence effectively shield law enforcement from accountability.The Coroner’s Silence uncovers how the current system of death investigation operates as a mechanism of institutional safeguarding. By highlighting the structural powerlessness of coroners and their disconnection from the communities most affected by police violence, Dr. Keel demonstrates how bureaucratic processes can render human suffering…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr. Terence Keel

Topics covered

• police violence
• death investigation
• forensic medicine
• accountability
• systemic failures

Keywords

• police violence
• death records
• forensic medicine
• accountability
• autopsy reports
• systemic failures
• victims' families

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Beacon Press

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