The Coroner's Silence

Each year, police officers K*ll over 1,000 people they’ve sworn to protect and serve. While some cases, like George Floyd’s and Sandra Bland’s, capture national attention, most victims remain nameless, their stories untold. The Coroner’s Silence reveals a disturbing truth about these cases: coroners and other death investigators are often complicit in obscuring the violent circumstances of in-custody deaths.

Join us to discuss UCLA professor Terence Keel's research into death records, public health studies, and interviews with victims' families— investigations that unmask systemic failures in forensic medicine. In conversation with Clio's founder Timothy Don, Dr. Keel will reveal how incomplete autopsy reports, mishandled medical documents, and strategically lost evidence effectively shield law enforcement from accountability. Given this body of research, the conversation will explore ways in which we can go beyond procedural reform to reimagine how we investigate, document, and understand deaths at the hands of state institutions.

Terence Keel is a professor of human biology, society and African American studies at UCLA. His latest book is The Coroner’s Silence: Death Records and the Hidden Victims of Police Violence.