Maryland Attorney General Concludes OCME Audit Case Review: Insufficient Evidence to Reopen 2006 Death of Thomas Rawls
The Maryland Office of the Attorney General announced in Baltimore on November 10 that it has completed its review of the investigative file from the death of Thomas Rawls, who died on March 2, 2006, following restraint by Baltimore County Police Department officers, and found insufficient information to warrant opening the matter for further investigation. At the request of counsel for Rawls' family, the office is not releasing additional details from the investigative file at this time.
The review was conducted under an executive order requiring a review of 41 restraint-related deaths between 2003 and 2019 that independent medical examiners, in an audit, determined should have been classified as homicides, while the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) had not classified them that way. Since the audit findings were released in 2025, the OCME has not changed the manner or cause of death certification in any of the 41 cases. The attorney general's office noted that, under National Association of Medical Examiners standards, manner-of-death classification is not a legal conclusion and does not by itself establish criminal intent or culpability.
In Rawls' case, the OCME performed an autopsy on March 3, 2006, and ruled the manner of death Undetermined, and the State's Attorney's Office for Baltimore County declined to pursue criminal charges. Independent examiners in the state audit later determined the manner should have been Homicide, but the OCME has not changed its original certification. After reviewing law enforcement and OCME files, the attorney general's team of prosecutors and investigators found insufficient evidence to prove criminal culpability beyond a reasonable doubt and concurred with the Baltimore County decision. The office will give the family an opportunity to review materials in the investigative file, and its team is now conducting a comprehensive review of all 41 audit cases.
(Source: Office of the Attorney General of Maryland)
Source: Office of the Attorney General of Maryland
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于马里兰州巴尔的摩市的市政厅大楼。Wikimedia Commons，公共领域。 / Photo: Baltimore City Hall in Baltimore, Maryland. Via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.
