ABSTRACT
Periodically, a forensic pathologist is presented with a case of sudden death during or immediately after a violent struggle in which a complete autopsy fails to reveal an anatomical cause of death. Such deaths usually involve police or medical personnel who have attempted to restrain a violent, irrational individual. When the forensic pathologist reports that there was insufficient trauma to explain the death, they are often accused of a coverup or incompetence because it is “quite evident” the individual was “killed” by the police or medical personnel. When it is finally accepted that there was insufficient physical evidence of trauma to the body to explain the death, allegations that the individual died from a “choke hold” or “positional asphyxia” are frequently made.
