DOVER, Del. (AP) - A state Senate committee is set to take up a bill abolishing the office of chief medical examiner and replacing it with a new division of forensic science.
The bill to be discussed Wednesday was drafted in response to a scandal involving evidence tampering and theft at the state drug testing lab, which is part of the medical examiner's office.
Two employees of the medical examiner's office have been arrested, and chief medical examiner Richard Callery is suspended with pay as officials investigate possible misuse of state resources.
The proposed reorganization would give the chief medical examiner less independence and job security and would shift oversight from the Department of Health and Social Services to the Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
