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The Office of Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York (OCME) is a department within the city government that investigates cases of persons who die within
The office was established on January 1, 1918, pursuant to a 1915 act of the
NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Pandemic Influenza Plan
{{authority control Medical Examiners Office Forensics organizations Government agencies established in 1918 Medical examiners
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
from criminal violence; by casualty or by suicide; suddenly, when in apparent good health; when unattended by a physician; in a correctional facility; or in any suspicious or unusual manner. The OCME also investigates when an application is made pursuant to law for a permit to cremate the body of a deceased person.
History
The office was established on January 1, 1918, pursuant to a 1915 act of the New York State Legislature
The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an officia ...
that abolished the office of the Coroner of New York City
The Coroner of New York City issued death certificates and performed autopsies and inquests for New York County, New York for all homicides, suicides and accidental deaths and any suspicious deaths.
The office served only Manhattan until 18 ...
. The Chief Medical Examiner is appointed by the mayor. Dr. Patrick D. Riordan was the last coroner and the first acting medical examiner from January 1 to February 1, 1918, when Dr. Charles Norris was appointed by the mayor as the first official Chief Medical Examiner of New York City.
The OCME provides the citizens of New York City essential services directly by identifying the manner and cause of death in specified cases, as well as providing state-of-the-art forensic DNA analysis through the OCME Forensic Biology Laboratory.
These services include on-site investigation into manner and cause of death; identification of remains; performing autopsies; performing DNA testing
Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, ...
related to identification of remains; examination of homicide, sexual assault, and other crime evidence collected by the Police Department
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest ...
for DNA extraction and typing; and responding to disasters that involve fatalities as part of a multidisciplinary team of city agencies.
It was reported that as of May 7, 2021, there were 750 bodies "who died during the pandemic" were still inside refrigerated truck trailers at Brooklyn's 39th Street pier awaiting burial.
List of Chief Medical Examiners
Unified Victim Identification System
In the aftermath of the numerous deaths resulting from theSeptember 11th attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
on New York City and the crash of American Airlines Flight 587
American Airlines Flight 587 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. On November 12, 200 ...
, the OCME developed the Unified Victim Identification System (UVIS). An Internet-enabled database system, it is intended to handle critical fatality management functions in the case of a major disaster with numerous deaths. It also has functionality to enable the OCME to respond to an influenza pandemic
A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic disease with a stable number of in ...
.City of New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner Pandemic Influenza Surge Plan To Manage In-Hospital Deaths Planning Tool
See also
*Coroner of New York City
The Coroner of New York City issued death certificates and performed autopsies and inquests for New York County, New York for all homicides, suicides and accidental deaths and any suspicious deaths.
The office served only Manhattan until 18 ...
* Unified Victim Identification System
* Valentino Mazzia
* '' Working Stiff: Two Years, 262 Bodies, and the Making of a Medical Examiner''
References
External links
NYC Office of Chief Medical Examiner
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Pandemic Influenza Plan
{{authority control Medical Examiners Office Forensics organizations Government agencies established in 1918 Medical examiners