Request for death records (Office of the Chief Medical Examiner)

To whom it may concern:

This is a request pursuant to the California Public Records Act. We are requesting death records dating June 18 to Oct. 21, 2020, with the following information for each case:

- case number
- decedent name
- date of death
- location of death
- race
- ethnicity
- age
- gender
- occupation/industry
- whether injury/infection occurred at work
- incident location (street address, city, state, ZIP where injury/infection occurred)
- incident date
- decedent residence (street address, city, state, ZIP)
- cause(s) of death (indicating if COVID related)
- contributing factors
- any other accessible, non-exempt information contained in electronic case records

This request is part of an ongoing collaboration involving the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford University, the MuckRock Foundation and partner newsrooms across the country. This request is part of a news-gathering process and is intended for educational, not commercial use.

We request expedited processing to the extent possible. This information is critical to the public’s understanding of the coronavirus pandemic and its local impact on public health. Let us know if we can help clarify this request in any way. Please also consider waiving any fees for producing the requested records.

Please provide the data in spreadsheet format as an e-mail attachment.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. We look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.

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Kyra Senese
Brown Institute for Media Innovation
Columbia University
630-608-8844