Full Autopsy Report

THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA Re: Medical Examiner - Culler Autopsy Report Your receipt number is: 27603 Dear Jasom Palmer,

Thank you for your correspondence. This is an automatic email confirming that your correspondence has been entered into our case management system for processing and response. If you have an additional request you wish to file, or if you wish to make a change to a pending request, please email it directly to righttoknowlaw@.phila.gov. Did you know that the City already releases a lot of information and open data online? You might be able to find the answer to your inquiry right now!


Here are some common types of requests we receive and where to find this information online right now:  

Search for a property's L&I related permits, licenses, violations, and appeals with the L&I property history tool. 

Search for a property's Real Estate Tax Balance with the Revenue Department's tax real estate lookup tool. 

Find all of the City of Philadelphia's open data sets, including City employee salary data, on Open Data Philly, the Philadelphia region's open data portal. 

Search information about professional service contracts online at eContract Philly. 

Search information about procurement contracts online with PHL Contracts. 

Search City legislation and related hearings online with Legistar. 

Obtain financial disclosure forms from the Department of Records. 


If you seek a police incident report, you can obtain the proper form from the Department of Records. Please note that police incident reports cost $25.  If you seek audio, visual, or bodycam records from the Philadelphia Police Department, you will need to make a request following the instructions in 42 Pa.C.S.A. Sec. 67A03 at https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=67A. Such requests must be made in-person or via
certified mail following the instructions in 42 Pa.C.S.A. §  67A(3) (aka
Act 22). Such requests are not processed under the RTKL. See 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 67A(2)(a); 65 P.S. §§ 67.305, 67.3101.1. You may use this form to make a request under Act 22. Requests under Act 22  should be addressed to: Lieutenant Barry Jacobs, Philadelphia Police Department, Open Records/Right to Know Section, Philadelphia Public Services Building, 400 N. Broad St., 4W-72, Philadelphia, PA 19130. Such requests are not processed under the Right-to-Know Law.   Use the forms on this page to request copies of various public safety from the Department of Records, such as:
Traffic Accident Reports (aka "crash report" - also available through https://public-safety-reports.phila.gov/) A records check or letter of good conduct from the Philadelphia Police Department Fire Reports Emergency Medical Services Reports The City of Philadelphia does not process Right-to-Know requests for the organizations listed below. If you want to submit a request to one of these entities, please click the links below to be directed to their Open Records Policies: 

Philadelphia Parking Authority 


School District of Philadelphia 


City of Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office 


Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority 


First Judicial District (Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas) 


If one of these sources has solved your inquiry, please let us know! Otherwise, thank you for your patience, and we will be in touch soon.  Sincerely, The City of Philadelphia Please Note: To help make sure that future emails from us don't end up in your spam or junk folder, please add this email address to your safe sender list.

VIA EMAIL: requests@muckrock.com Re: MEO - Culler Autopsy Report Request #: 27603 Dear Jasom Palmer: Thank you for writing to the City of Philadelphia (City) with your inquiry* received on  April 18, 2024. Your request is denied.  MEO reports are expressly exempt from disclosure under the RTKL. 65 P.S. § 67.708(20). Please note that the
Coroner’s Act applies to counties of the second class, second class A, and third through eighth classes. 65 P.S. §
1201-B. Philadelphia is a county of the first class, having a population of more than 1.5 million inhabitants (16 P.S. §
210(1)), therefore the Coroner’s Act does not apply.
This request is further denied to the extent that it seeks records relating to a noncriminal investigation, which are
expressly exempted from disclosure under the RTKL and will not be disclosed in response to your request
except as expressly provided. 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(17); accord Zacher v. Pennsylvania State Police, OOR
Docket No. AP 2009-0539 (Pa. OOR July 24, 2009). The noncriminal investigation exemption includes, but is
not limited to, “investigative materials, notes, correspondence and reports.” 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(17). To the
extent the record requested relates to an investigation that is criminal in nature, your request is further denied
pursuant to Section 708(b)(16).  As a courtesy, and without waiving the above, the MEO maintains a separate process for requesting records
apart from the RTKL process. Please be advised that only the following people can request records from the
MEO:  • The legal next of kin for the person who died.  • A person or agency with written permission of the next of kin. This is usually an attorney or insurance
company. • Anyone with a court order or subpoena for the report.  If you are the legal next of kin, person with written permission of next of kin, or you possess a court order or
subpoena for the report, you may request MEO records using the online records request form. Email or mail
the completed form to the MEO (please note that in-person submission is not possible at this time due to
COVID-19). You must include a copy of the next of kin’s photo identification. It may take up to 12 weeks for
your request to be completed.  • By email: You may submit a completed records request form, along with a copy of the next of
kin’s photo ID, by email to medicalexaminer@phila.gov. You will receive a return email that will
include the amount due. Payment may be made by mail. Once the MEO receives payment, they will
issue your requested documents.  • By mail: Submit a completed records request form, along with a copy of the next of kin’s photo ID, to:
Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office
321 University Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19104. You may find more MEO information online: https://www.phila.gov/services/birth-marriage-life-events/request-medical-examiner-records/  This correspondence will close your request with our office as permitted by law. Respectfully, Feige
M. Grundman Pronouns:
she/her   Chief Deputy City Solicitor Right to Know Unit City
of Philadelphia Law Department One Parkway Building, 17th Floor 1515 Arch Street Philadelphia, PA 19102   *Written requests for records to state and local agencies in Pennsylvania are generally governed by the Commonwealth’s Right to Know Law (RTKL), 65 P.S. § 67.101 et seq. In accordance with RTKL, the City has promulgated an Open Records Policy, which requires use of the standard statewide Right to Know Form for the submission of written requests pursuant to RTKL (“RTK Requests”). See 65 P.S. § 67.504(a); Dekok v. Lancaster County, AP 2010-1197, 2011 PA O.O.R.D. LEXIS 25 at *5 and n.1 (Pa. O.O.R. Jan. 17, 2011) (holding that in accordance with RTKL, an agency may adopt a policy requiring the use of the standard statewide form established by the Office of Open Records in order to file an RTK Request); accord Pa. Gaming Control Bd. v. Office of Open Records, 48 A.3d 503 (Pa. Commw. 2012). This policy is available online at https://www.phila.gov/open-records-policy/ To the extent you intended to submit an RTK Request, your request is denied as you have not complied with the City’s Open Records Policy. As your request was not submitted on or with the standard statewide form, the City does not consider your request to be a RTK Request pursuant to RTKL and has processed it as an informal request. The City nonetheless referred to RTKL for guidance in determining whether records should be released in response to your request.

On
Fri, Apr 19 at 11:32 AM
, Jasom Palmer <requests@muckrock.com> wrote:


I
am
requesting
the full
autopsy report
for Rome
A. Culler
(died on
2-26-2024) Items
should include
any findings
that relate
to a
cause of
death if
so determined.