Michael Barba of the San Francisco Examiner reported: Audit over lab worker meth arrest finds medical examiner is missing drugs. “Clearly, their security protocols around handling evidence have been lax, which means that an untold number of criminal cases have likely been compromised by their carelessness,” Raju said. “People are likely in jail or prison...Read More

SF Chronicle reporters Megan Cassidy and Jason Fagone reported: S.F. lab scandal: Management lowered standards prior to analyst’s meth bust. “The fact that the head of the toxicology lab pushed to lower the standards for his own job description is emblematic of the lowering of standards of the Medical Examiner’s Office across the board,” Raju...Read More

SF Chronicle reporters Megan Cassidy and Jason Fagone report: SF public defender calls for firing of chief medical examiner. “Hart is not a credible witness and the truth-seeking function of the court process is thwarted,” Raju wrote in the complaint, which he addressed to Mayor London Breed, as well as the California Medical Board president...Read More

KQED’s Julie Small reported: Lots of Drugs, Lax Oversight: Former SF Medical Examiner Staffers Say Lab Analyst’s Meth Arrest ‘Just the Tip of the Iceberg’. In light of the arrest of an SF lab analyst in Utah, where he was found with illicit drugs in an “evidence” bag from the Medical Examiner’s Office, San Francisco...Read More

September 11, 2020 PRESS CONTACT: SF Public Defender’s Office – (628)249-7946 – Valerie.Ibarra@sfgov.org  SF Public Defender Mano Raju’s Statement Regarding the Arrest of SF Medical Examiner Lab Analyst   “The arrest of Mr. Volk casts another dark shadow on the credibility of the Medical Examiner’s Office, and I urge the District Attorney to immediately review the thousands of cases...Read More