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Let’s see. One homicide in my city was just solved, 38 YEARS after it was committed. It was a cold case and was reviewed periodically and when DNA analysis had reached the point it could take three decade old samples to ID the killer, that’s when the investigation was complete.So, to answer your question, any alleged wrong doing by a police officer is taken VERY seriously and will be accorded the time and money, if warranted, to investigate. It might take a day or a month. Investigations of any kind do not come with a time frame.

We regularly get police in the autopsy suite to view an autopsy. They have to be an investigating officer on the case. The days of bringing a rookie in to ‘show them around’ or test their mettle are over.Prosecuting attorneys will sometimes observe also.Some agencies send officers / detectives to every death that gets an autopsy. Even suicides and motor vehicle accidents. But those are usually larger police agencies that have enough personnel and are physically close to our office. Most agencies will only send observers for homicides or suspicious deaths. We get decedents from over 4 hours drive away, those agencies rarely attend, even with a homicide. They will have their detective phone the pathologist to discuss findings later in the day.A detective or crime scene officer will attend an autopsy for a few reasons. The will directly accept evidence, such as projectiles (bullets), clothing, personal property, and some samples such as fibers. Much of the evidence is picked up later as it has to air dry. We will put inside a locked cabinet like one of these:(Image Source)After everything is dry, we will package it up. It usually takes several days, especially if the clothing is soaked with blood. We also dry swabs and other samples inside it. All evidence picked up by police is described and signed for, including autopsy photos. We (usually) do not allow police to take their own photos.Another reason the police will attend is to describe what they saw at the scene to the pathologist. Or to ask questions about evidence they saw at the scene. For example they saw a blood spray on the wall- can this be explained by injuries on the decedent, or could the suspect have this injury? (Unlike TV, forensic evidence is not processed in hours, it can take weeks).(Image Source)Blood spatter (not splatter, you rookie) is a fascinating topic in itself.Police will also be getting information on injuries that will be helpful when interviewing suspects and witnesses.We often will get people requesting to view autopsies. Due to privacy laws, those days are gone. Usually the only observers (that are not police or DA’s) are medical students. Our office is on a list of options for doctor students to do a rotation on during their last year of medical school. The rotation is usually 2–3 months. We do have some forensic students that come in for tours, but not while autopsies are going on. Unlike TV shows where all the decedents are covered with a clean white modesty sheet; when we do exams, there is a line of naked decedents lying on tables. We are as respectful of decedents as we can be, while getting through a large amount of cases as efficiently as possible. Also, everyone who comes through for observation also gets a (very basic) background check. All the police and district attorneys also have to provide legal picture ID to enter, and they are logged on a visitor log. The autopsy report will also list who was in attendance, from the pathologist and autopsy tech, to the observers.As far as them being too squeamish. Occasionally we will have someone step out, or sit down. But it is not too often. Usually these are people who were at the crime scene or who have had experience with bloody / gory situations. An autopsy where you are dissecting someone, can be difficult for some people, but I have never had anyone vomit or faint.

Thanks for the A2A.Can a minor identify a body. Yes in the jurisdictions I have worked they can. This of course would assume they were old enough. A 4 or 6 year old probably would not be accepted, but I would think anyone over 7 would be. Now we would not take a 7–18 year old into a death scene to ID someone, but if they were the one to discover the decedent they would be believed.This may be different according the policies of the agency. Some areas it is the police who are responsible, some it is the medicolegal death investigator, in other areas it may be something different.To my knowledge there are no specific laws regarding identification of a decedent.Most identifications are visual by someone (even a minor). If there is no one there who knew the decedent prior to their demise, or if they are visually not recognizable due to injury or decomposition; then we will scientifically identify the person at the Medical Examiner / Coroner office.There are several different methods- fingerprints, dental, dna, medical implant serial number…..etcWe do not use “circumstantial” identification. This is where someone is found in a car and it is registered to a “Joe Blow”. Officers look up DMV photo and see that this decedent resembles them.If someone comes into our office “identified’ but they have injuries that would make it impossible to visually ID them. For example we had a man who reportedly shot himself in front of his wife. He had used a weapon that was a higher caliber and he literally did not have a face. When we called the police agency to provide information for a scientific ID= he didn’t want to go to the trouble as the wife had ‘witnessed’ it. We brought up that what if the wife and her husband shot someone else and the husband was hoping for a death certificate for insurance purposes or to start a new identity. Of course that was not the case - and that is rare. We do keep DNA samples indefinitely, so if this was alleged later, we could test and find out- but our policy is that if they are not visually identifiable - a scientific one is required.As far as the minor identifying the decedent- it is usually just them saying, ‘yes that is my dad.’ The agency I worked at before my present one, did require that a written form signed by the identifier with an explanation of how they knew the decedent and how long. “Co-worker; 5 years” , “Parent; entire life”, or “Friend, 15 years” etc… But the one I work at now, we just ask the police agency if they have been identified.The movie trope of taking a family into a morgue and pulling back the sheet does not happen in any of the places I have worked. At the ME office I currently work at we do not do any family viewings at all- they have to wait until they are release to the funeral home. Decedents come to us identified, or we do it scientifically.