Sickle cell trait: an unsound cause of death

Abstract

Sickle cell trait: an unsound cause of deathIn forensic pathology, cause of death is defined as the disease or injury that triggers the events that lead to death. If a chronically ill woman dies from a gunshot wound, it is this injury, not her underlying health issues, that led to her death. The same logic applies to injuries inflicted by law enforcement.As physicians, we harm patients and communities through complicity in a racist system of policing. Physicians deny justice to communities by providing medical cover for death at the hands of law enforcement officers and by perpetuating medical falsehoods to justify this practice. Although tragically not unique, the murder of George Floyd highlights the ways in which we reiterate an unjust and unfortunately common process."Man dies after medical incident during police interaction," read a press release from the Minneapolis Police Department on May 25, 2020. 1 An initial autopsy described his history of heart disease, substanceuse disorder, and sickle cell trait. Without Darnella Frazier's bravery,

Sickle cell trait and multisystem trauma: an unaddressed urgent knowledge gap

“…In May 2021, The New York Times documented how such practice is common and unjust: SCT has been used for the past 25 years to defend at least 45 police-related homicides of individuals with SCT, including as recently as the murder of Mr George Floyd 30. The American Society of Hematology (ASH) wrote an official position statement in solidarity with The New York Times findings31—with ASH President Dr Martin Tallman adding, ‘The use of sickle cell trait to cover up’ the death of people while in police custody is ‘abhorrent [because] sickle cell trait is unlikely to supersede other inflicted traumas as the major cause of death’ 32–34…”