MARYLAND - A statewide audit in Maryland has reclassified 36 police-custody deaths as homicides, including several on the Eastern Shore.
Among the autopsies found to be incorrect in the audit are those of Anton Black in 2018 in Talbot County, Ronald Byler in 2005 in Wicomico County, and Yekuna McDonald in 2012, also in Wicomico.
The audit reviewed 87 police custody deaths across Maryland from 2003-2019 in response to former state medical examiner Dr. David Fowler’s testimony in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Fowler previously stated police were not at fault for Floyd’s death in 2020.
“This audit responds to public outcry from medical professionals across the country who expressed concerns about the former leadership at the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the agency charged with determining the cause and manner of an individual’s sudden or unexpected death,” Governor Wes Moore said in a statement included with the audit.
More than 450 medical experts questioned Fowler’s and his staff’s previous death determinations made in Maryland in the wake of the testimony, according to Moore’s office.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said the audit found that in-custody deaths were more unlikely to be classified as homicide if the victim was black.
“We recognize these findings have profound implications for families seeking closure, communities requesting transparency, and the dedicated law enforcement officers who serve our state,” Brown said. “It’s important to note that a homicide determination is a medical classification, not a judgment of criminal wrongdoing or police misconduct.”
Anton Black died in September of 2018 following a struggle with a Greensboro police officer. According to the audit, his autopsy was conducted in Talbot County and ruled an accident. In 2023, Black’s family settled a federal lawsuit with the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in what the ACLU called the first of its kind in Maryland.
The autopsies of Byler and McDonald in Wicomico County both initially stated the cause of death was undetermined. The audit has ruled them both homicides.
The full audit can be found here.
“This audit is not the end - it is a continuation of our commitment to improving government oversight and serving all Marylanders to the very best of our ability,” Governor Moore said. “And our dedication to that mission will not waver.”