Forensics Talk

Trayvon Martin Shooting: Forensics & Injuries Can Tell The Tale!

The News is out that George Zimmerman has been charged with second degree murder today.

To say that this whole incident is a tragedy would be an extreme understatement. I believe there were wrongs on both sides. One person has died, and the other has had to hide for fear of his life and may now spend the rest of his life in jail.

That person, instead of having his rights as a citizen protected, has been essentially tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death, in the public forum - all occurred almost immediately after the shooting.

And all thanks to the unconscionable actions of the media, and of others, who deliberately fan the flames of hatred for their own personal agendas.

There are aspects of Zimmerman's story that I do question. I question the claim of his head being banged on the sidewalk, as perhaps, opposed to hitting his head on the soft, wet ground. Reprotedly he had grass stains on the back of his jacket. The injuries were not clear enough to determine exactly what caused them.

If zimmerman's head was being banged against a hard sidewalk, I question why he wasn't knocked out, or received more injury than he did. Having one's head banged against a hard surface like a sidewalk, could cause significant injuries, such as a concussion and brain damage, and even death.

I question the fear factor involved. Fear is individual to each person. However, using the reasonable person standard, used by the courts, I have to question whether a reasonable person would fear more for his life in the banging his head on the sidewalk vs the grass and ground scenarios?

I was surprised to see the number of stock photos on Fotolia showing young males, both black and white, all wearing hoodies! So, I tried another key word. Same thing happened. Another one. Again, same thing. What does that say about the general public perception of youth and crime?

It indicates there is a general public perception that hoodies are worn by only young criminals, would it be so strange for Zimmerman to have that perception as well and be suspicious?

I also question Martin's behavior. It's reported that he was beating Zimmerman. The police report stated Zimmerman had injuries consistent with an assault.

The rest has to be proven in a court of law with a fair trial and an impartial jury. I am very interested to hear the forensics reports, including gunshot wound and residue, and the trace evidence found.

"The Rain on Cain: A Closer Look at Sex-Harassment and the Law"

Law Blog

November 4, 2011, 11:15 AM ET

by Ashby Jones

     The amount of settlement counts:

     "In recent days, reports of sexual-harassment lawsuits have dogged the until-now surprisingly successful Herman Cain presidential campaign. And Cain’s people have conceded that they haven’t handled the flare-up with great aplomb.

But let’s pause for a moment to take a look at the law surrounding sex-harassment. As Brent Kendall and I wrote in this WSJ story, people often have many different behaviors in mind when they talk about sexual harassment, and a brief primer on the topic might help clear up a few things.

For starters, in the legal arena, making a successful sex-harassment case often hinges on whether the conduct is pervasive or serious enough to disrupt an employee’s work . . . " Read More

Gruesome photos, bogus computer entries are key to homicide case against child welfare workers

NY Daily News                                                    

BY Oren Yaniv and Rich Schapiro
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Friday, March 25th 2011, 4:00 AM

     "Gruesome photos of a battered 4-year-old girl. Autopsy reports showing she was drugged. Twine used to tie her to a bed.

Prosecutors seeking homicide convictions for the two child welfare workers assigned to protect Marchella Brett-Pierce have several pieces of dramatic evidence - but the most damning are a few bogus computer entries.

Experts say caseworker Damon Adams' alleged attempt to cover up his failure to monitor Marchella could be a silver bullet for prosecutors.

Adams, 36, is accused of never visiting Marchella's Brooklyn home despite glaring warning signs - and fudging computer records to show he checked in on her in the months before she died.

What authorities described as record tampering shows that Adams "had an understanding of the nature of his failure to act and the potential consequences for it," said Paul Gentile, a former Bronx prosecutor. "That takes the DA a significant distance to proving his case."

David Shapiro, a former Newark prosecutor, agreed.

"The false entry indicates that he knew that he blew it," said Shapiro. "That's the key." Read More

Understanding Patient Violence against Health Care Workers

Kevin MD

by Kevin Pho, MD

     "Last fall, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital was shot by the distraught son of a patient for whom he was caring. The man later killed his mother, then himself. A week earlier, a patient in a Long Island, N.Y., hospital beat his nurse with a leg from a broken chair, causing serious injuries. The following month, a psychiatric technician at a Napa, Calif., state hospital was fatally attacked on the job.

This snapshot of violence against health care workers reflects a disturbing trend. According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics analysis published last year, almost 60% of assaults in the workplace occurred in a health care setting. Nearly three-quarters of these assaults were by patients or residents of a health facility."

 No longer havens

     "Health care settings have been traditionally thought of as “safe havens,” open to anyone as a place to be protected and cared for. This is a trend worth watching. The Joint Commission, a national accrediting agency, soberly noted last year that “health care institutions today are confronting steadily increasing rates of crime, including violent crimes such as assault, rape and homicide.”Violence is most common in psychiatric facilities and emergency departments, but can also be seen in waiting rooms, long-term care centers and critical care units."

     "Nurses are the most frequent targets. According to a 2010 survey from the Emergency Nurses Association, more than half of ER nurses were victims of physical violence and verbal abuse, including being spit on, shoved, or kicked; one in four reported being assaulted more than 20 times over the past three years. The survey noted that the violence seemed to be increasing at the same time the number of alcohol-, drug- and psychiatric-related patients was rising. . . " Read More

Man Admits to Abusing 100 Special Needs Children

CBS News

    Swiss Police Says Man Targeted Care Homes in Switzerland and Germany Where He Worked as a Therapist

     (AP)  GENEVA - "A 54-year-old man has admitted sexually abusing more than 100 handicapped children in care homes in Switzerland and Germany over a period of 29 years, in what Swiss police described Tuesday as an unprecedented case.

The abuse took place in nine different care homes where the unidentified man had worked as a therapist since 1982, police in the canton (state) of Bern said.

The man was arrested in April 2010 and has been detained since, but authorities only released details of the case Tuesday to prevent the investigation from being impeded by media interest, police said.

The head of Bern police's special investigations unit, Gabriele Berger, told a news conference in Bern that the evidence against the man includes photos and hours of video recording the abuse.

The man admitted sexually abusing 114 mentally handicapped children, some of whom also were physically impaired, police said. He also admitted eight further cases of attempted abuse, authorities said.

"One of the central questions of this investigation is how such levels of abuse could go undetected for so long," said Berger.

The man had been investigated on allegations of sex abuse in 2003, but that probe was dropped due to conflicting evidence, she said, adding that that case would be reopened."

Good morning, readers! Lots of changes recently, as I've officially retired, after 36 years, from clinical nursing, and am now devoting myself full time to consulting.

  Forensics Talk will still continue though. I'm currently working on future posts, including one on nursing and workplace bullying, long over due, that I promised to write for a colleague.

   Bullying has been in the public eye a lot recently. As bad as it is for kids to bully each other, one would think that adult professionals would know better, especially in the field of Forensic Nursing.

  Since we treat victims of violence, why would we behave in such a manner towards each other? And, according to experts, whether recognized by hospital administrators or not, workplace bullying and harassment is a part of workplace violence.

 But, unfortunately, it does happen in our field, as it does in any other area of nursing. It's been long known that bullying and harassment is rampant in the medical field. There's an old saying that Nurses tend to eat their young.

Unfortunately, as almost any nurse can tell you, it's very true. And it's not just the young. These days, elder nurses are being targeted too. Why? I'll be disclosing some documented reasons in the article.  Sadly, nurses are probably among the least protected of employees.

  While I'm still working on this article, I invite any medical professional to write, anonymously if they wish, and share their story or feelings on this matter. Just write to my email address listed in this blog. I will do my best to include as many as I can in the article - which, at this point, looks to be a long one.

"Cops Getting Caught On Camera Increases Scrutiny"

USA Today

By Don Babwin, Associated Press Writer

 

CHICAGO — "Minutes after a suburban Chicago police officer was charged with striking a motorist with his baton, prosecutors handed out copies of a video showing the beating -- taken by a dashboard camera on the officer's own squad car.

In California, after a transit cop and an unruly train passenger slammed against a wall during a struggle and shattered a station window last fall, video from a bystander's cell phone was all over the Internet before the window was fixed.

The same cell phones, surveillance cameras and other video equipment often used to assist police are also catching officers on tape, changing the nature of police work -- for better and worse.

Some say cameras are exposing behavior that police have gotten away with for years. But others contend the videos, which often show a snippet of an incident, turn officers into villains simply for doing their jobs, making them targets of lawsuits and discipline from bosses buckling to public pressure.

"We tell our officers all the time you've got to assume that everything you do is going to be videotaped," said Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis. "Everyone has a cell phone and almost every cell phone has a camera."

Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said the video her office gave to the media on Tuesday shows police officer James Mandarino, from the Chicago suburb of Streamwood, hitting motorist Ronald Bell 15 times after a traffic stop last month. . ." Read More 

"Violent and Profane" Workplace Outburst Protected

From Overlawyered

                                                    

      Applying Washington state disability-rights law, the Ninth Circuit has ruled that an employee's "violent and profane" outburst to supervisors may be a protected manifestation of her bipolar disorder and thus not grounds for termination.

   Although the court cautioned that not all disability-induced misconduct should be seen as protected, it ruled that the law protects "manifestations" of a mental or physical disability just as it protects the disability itself (Gambini v. Total Renal Care, opinion in PDF format; HR.BLR.com, Jun. 11; Workplace Law Prof, Jun. 15).

   For more on the Ninth Circuit and disabled-rights law, including some misconduct cases, see Oct. 7 and Oct. 14, 2003; Oct. 12 and Dec. 6, 2006, Mar. 23, 2007. For a contrasting Massachusetts case, see Jun. 28, 2006.

                           

      Applying Washington state disability-rights law, the Ninth Circuit has ruled that an employee's "violent and profane" outburst to supervisors may be a protected manifestation of her bipolar disorder and thus not grounds for termination.

   Although the court cautioned that not all disability-induced misconduct should be seen as protected, it ruled that the law protects "manifestations" of a mental or physical disability just as it protects the disability itself (Gambini v. Total Renal Care, opinion in PDF format; HR.BLR.com, Jun. 11; Workplace Law Prof, Jun. 15).

   For more on the Ninth Circuit and disabled-rights law, including some misconduct cases, see Oct. 7 and Oct. 14, 2003; Oct. 12 and Dec. 6, 2006, Mar. 23, 2007. For a contrasting Massachusetts case, see Jun. 28, 2006.

                           

Reply to Duke "Low Life Lying Thug" Comment

 

     Justice 58:

        As I said, I respect your opinion. You are certainly entitled to it, as is everyone. Lately, I've found some time to read various comments posted on the web about this case. Many of these comments disturb me greatly. Perhaps I am too naive. I guess I was kind of hoping that we had advanced further, as a society, than what I've been reading. I think the statement that these Duke boys should pay, whether they are guilty or not, just to make up for past injustices, was probably about the most offensive I've read so far.

   Take your comment for example:

    "Imagine this,your daughter being raped by some of the elite college students of Duke University ..."

      Well, we do have a daughter. And the fact is, God forbid, if she were raped, it wouldn't matter to us who she was raped by. White, black, rich, or poor, it wouldn't matter. The only thing that would matter to my husband and I would be the fact that she was even raped at all.

      We would feel extreme anger towards anyone who would commit violence against one of our children. Then again, we would feel just as angry should someone point the finger at our son and make a false accusation.

      All citizens of this country are entitled to be protected against offenders. All citizens of this country are entitled to see justice done, should they become a victim of a crime. And all citizens of this country are entitled to full protection, under the law, if they are accused of a crime. That means everyone.

     Under the law, every accused person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. We don't pick and choose who is presumed innocent and who is presumed guilty based just on someone's word or whatever slant the media might take. It means that until their guilt is proven, they are presumed innocent in the eyes of the law and should be offered every protection granted them.

"...and no one will hear her cries of help because she's poor, black, and she's employed as a stripper."

    Well, I'm going to have to disagree with you there too. I work in a large city hospital. Our city patients are primarily African-American, many of them poor. I can assure you, they are all "listened to" and respected.

     We do hear their cries and so does our DA. I happen to be very proud of our sexual assault unit and the professional job they do. Every person's claim is taken very seriously. That doesn't mean they all end up in court. Many don't. That doesn't mean there aren't some false accusations here and there either. There sure are. What it does mean is that no one ignores anyone's "cries."

     The stripper part - OK, let's talk about that. I could care less if she is a stripper. We get all kinds of people through our doors and we treat every single person with caring and respect no matter who they are.

   What I do have a problem with though is the fact that she showed up for her job impaired. I don't care whether you're a brain surgeon or a stripper, you don't show up for work intoxicated. Most people know this!

   The very fact that she would show up to work having, by her own admission, knowingly consumed alcohol and Flexeril, against medical warnings, indicates to me some serious pre-existing issues which causes me to question her credibility on that fact alone. Not to mention everything else.

    "Imagine that your daughter was trying to get an education ...lets say, at a less than prestigious college than Duke University and no one would listen because *GASP* she has no wealth, power or prestige."

     In addition to our city patients, we get many college kids through our doors. They don't come from prestigious colleges. And guess what? We still *GASP* listen! We don't ask our patients how much money they have. We don't ask them what they do for a living. It's none of our business! We only ask them what is relevant to treating them as a patient.

    Now I have no idea what the detectives may ask but I'm assuming, since they bring them to our ER, that they too are *GASP* listening!

   "The lowlife thugs (duke 3) brought this upon themselves and now must suffer the consequences of their own actions."

   I'm sorry, have I missed the trial? Did it somehow bi-pass me when I wasn't paying attention?

  "The parents of these thugs should have taught them to respect women..period.
Where is their d*mn morals? The parents should have spent more time raising their kids instead of counting all those dollar bills and leaving the kids to raise themselves.
These rich spoiled thugs were already headed on a collision course long before the Duke Rape Case."

     Now see, this is what I find offensive. The fact that we haven't managed to get away from stereo types yet. Do you know these boys personally, Justice 58? Have you been inside their homes? Have you actually seen how they were raised? If not, how can you judge? This is as bad as someone pointing a finger at a black man just because he came from the poor side of town. It's the same thing. There's no difference!

    You talk about those "spoiled rich white boys". They may be spoiled. They may even at times be arrogant. And then again, they may not. I personally don't know them, so I'm not going to judge them based on that fact alone. Show me some actual evidence. Show me some proof. Don't just point a finger and say they did it because they are rich and white!

   You want to talk about being spoiled and arrogant, have you taken a good look at our own middle class kids lately? I have and I've seen alot of spoiled kids with bad manners and an extreme sense of entitlement. The rich do not hold a monopoly on arrogance!

   Now I will agree with you on one thing and that is the college turning a blind eye to the abuse of alcohol by students. In the vast majority of rape allegations, alcohol is involved. I don't know why all the big surprise over this. From all my research, which was quite a bit, the booze parties have been an open secret at colleges and universities all over the country for a long time. Big and small, black and white, prestigious and not prestigious, it doesn't matter. It's everywhere.

   This is where I feel the universities do need to be held accountable, as well as the students. I personally feel that alcohol should be banned on all campuses, as well as rules enforced against alcohol use in off campus housing. I guess it will never happen but I'd also like to see co-ed housing disappear. Most campus rapes happen in the dorms. There needs to be more proactive steps taken  by our colleges and universities to prevent student alcohol use on and off campus.
 


 
    
   

    

Domestic Violence vs. Sexual Assault Injuries II

   

  The pattern of injuries involved with domestic violence (DV) or interpersonal violence (IPV) typically involve facial injuries as the most common site of injury. A study in the Journal Of The Royal Society of Medicine showed that out of 539 adult victims of assault, 83% of all fractures, 66% of all lacerations and 53% of all hematomas were facial.

   The arms were the next most common sites of injury. Punching (72%) and kicking (42%) were the most common methods of assault. Only six percent involved any use of weapons. Out of all the types of inuries, those who were kicked required the most hospitalizations. The numbers are very similar to those found here in the U.S. as well.

   This is what you're generally going to see when IPV is involved. Punching, beating, kicking and choking are classic mechanisms of injury found in domestic violence. It is mostly male against female, although females can be abusive as well.

   However, the guys are bigger and stronger and when they hit, they tend to go for the face first. The face doesn't have the underlying fat and tissue to help protect it, like the rest of the body, so the injuries tend to show up quicker(and be bloodier). What we would expect to see is any of the following:

• Split lip
• Broken teeth
• Teeth imprints in the lower lip
• A lacerated eyebrow  
• A red eye that will soon turn black
• Bloody nose
• Possible cheek fracture
• Abrasions on the male's knuckles from hitting the victim's teeth
• Defensive injuries on the victim
• Scratches and /or crescent shaped imprint marks from the victim's fingernails on the male's arm
   

      Gripping and punching of the arms is next. If bruises aren't apparent yet, there are usually red marks showing on the upper arms. There are often imprint marks from the fingers gripping the victim's arms.

      Kicking is usually done while the victim is down. Bruising, abrasions, red marks or pattern marks from the shoe are usually observable.

     Strangulation

      Strangulation is characterized by closing off either the blood vessels to the brain or the airway or both. In DV situations, strangulation is usually from the front, done by gripping the victim's throat. On the other hand, a choke hold is done from behind with one arm going across the victim's anterior throat, compressing the carotid arteries and veins.

     The usual purpose of a choke hold is to render the opponent unconscious. It's usually committed by males against other males. It's not commonly used against females, except in domestic violence situations.

"Choking is a form of power and control. When batterers attempt to strangle their victims, they are taking away their voice and preventing them from screaming for help."-- Casey Gwinn, San Diego, City Attorney.**

The choke hold frequently leaves no visible injuries. In fact, often the visible injuries are on the batterers arms, from the victim trying to break the hold by digging deeply into his arms with her fingernails.

       There are four mechanisms involved with injuries from a choke hold:

• Cardiac Arrhythmia from pressure on the carotid nerve ganglia - can cause cardiac arrest and death (rare)
• Pressure on the carotid arteries obstructing blood to the brain
• Pressure on the jugular veins - preventing blood returning from the brain - causes unconsciousness, respiratory depression, and asphyxia
• Obstructing the larynx - blocking air flow to the lungs    * From the IAFN Newsletter: Manual and Ligature Strangulation

      It takes only 11lbs. of pressure, held bilaterally for 10 seconds, to cause the victim to become unconscious.

   If applied to a person under stress during a struggle, a strangle may make the person unconscious almost immediately, while it may take several seconds for a calm person to pass out.**

     If released, consciousness returns in about 10-20 seconds.
     If held for 50 seconds, damage is usually irreversible.
     Death occurs at 1-2 minutes.

     Policemen are no longer allowed to use this type of restraint against a strong, violent male prisoner due to the deaths that have occurred as a result of the compression on the airway.

    It takes only 4 lbs. of pressure to obstruct the jugular veins.

    To make a comparison:

    It takes 6 lbs. of pressure to pull the trigger of a gun.

    It takes 20lbs. of pressure to pull the tab on a soda can.

   This is one of the biggest problems I had with the Duke accuser's original complaint. What was the purpose? We're talking about a 150 lb. impaired woman being held in a choke hold by a very tall, athletic player weighing in at around the 200lb. mark. The alcohol is a central nervous system* depressant. The Felxeril is a central nervous system* depressant.

     CNS depressants can cause respiratory depression. The compression from the choke hold not only can cause unconsciousness in about 10 seconds, but can also cause respiratory depression. She said she was fighting and it was hard for her to breathe. For how long? Logically, in my opinion, she should have fallen unconscious even before she could have been fighting.

   While the choke hold may not cause visible injuries, it can cause non-visible injuries such as laryngeal injuries and swelling, Hyoid bone fractures, a hoarse or raspy voice, and trouble swallowing. Since the accuser's complaints were in the initial police report, a strangulation form should have been filled out by the SANE nurse stating what injuries were noted. This is required for all complaints of strangulation / choking if evidence is found*. I would also have expected xrays to be done to check for internal injuries.

   What I find interesting is not only the accuser's complaints so closely resembling those usually found in Domestic violence, rather than in this type of rape, but also the fact that there doesn't appear to be any such injuries anyway. At least, I haven't read of any so far.

     No bruises, abrasions, tears, split lips, black eyes, pattern marks, hoarse voice, trouble swallowing....the list goes on. I have read of neck and back pain. I've also read that she has a chronic pre-existing condition involving neck and back pain.

     Too many questions. Not enough answers.

   * Clarified

Domestic Violence vs. Sexual Assault Injuries I

 

  I am re-printing one of my first blog posts concerning the Duke Lacrosse case. This is originally from my Xanga site before I switched to Typepad.The views presented below were my first impressions I got from reading the copy of the police report on the Smoking Gun site.

     After reading that report, alot of questions were popping up in my head. Things just didn't add up. The whole thing just didn't seem to make any sense. Many changes have occurred in the months since that post, yet my initial reaction - that gut feeling that tells you that something just isn't right, hasn't changed.

  On the surface, the Duke Lacrosse case may appear similar to all the other gang rape situations on campuses across the country. The fraternities and privileged athletic teams, the arrogance, the sense of entitlement - all of which appear to be involved in campus rapes.

     This is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed and those who commit the crimes should be held accountable, no question.

     However, looking below the surface, I believe there are too many differences in this particular case and too many things that just don't add up.