Through Colin Kaepernick’s Know Your Rights Camp, the athlete-activist will launch a “secondary autopsies” initiative to family members of anyone whose death is “police-related.”
Collaborating with a panel of board-certified forensic pathologists who perform the task of examining those who’ve passed away, the free offer will aid in disclosing preliminary findings and issuing final reports to requesting families.
“We know that the prison industrial complex, which includes police and policing, strives to protect and serve its interest at all costs,” Kaepernick said. “The Autopsy Initiative is one important step toward ensuring that family members have access to accurate and forensically verifiable information about the cause of death of their loved one in their time of need.”
Kaepernick and the Initiative’s goal is to eliminate concerns about reliability and objectivity of the first autopsy conduct, the risk of manipulation of evidence and potential bias on behalf of the coroner or medical examiner and/or the use of faulty forensic procedures.
“I am passionate about the Initiative’s impact and look forward to being a resource to victims’ family members who have lost their loved ones due to a police-related death,” said Nicole Martin, program manager for the Autopsy Initiative.
Kaepernick, who led the San Francisco 49ers to the Super Bowl following the 2012 season, last played in the NFL in 2016, the same year he started kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.