Evening star., 1947-01-18
(yzt.ts. }1EEs4g 1E|:.,.,,|E ,,;.y ,lnIlGOy! E
Scott Inquest
Will Hear.50
Next Thursday
Night Session PIonnec
lfNecessory to Get
All Evidence

A coroner's inquest that will con.
tinue all day Thursday and well into
the night, If necessary, will investi.
gate the death of Charles w. Scot
in the District Jail inflrmary No.
vember 3. :
Announcement of the long-awaitec
inquest, repeatedly delayed pending
the recovery of an injured police
witness, was made by District Coro-
ner A. Magruder Macdonald. He
said he expected to hear the testi-
mony of more than so witnesses
which would prolong the inquest.
Scott, a 24-year-old colored man.
died in District Jail 33 hours after
he was involved in traffic accident
that led to the death of Detective
Harry E. Hamilton and the serious
injury of Detective Sergt. Clyde o.
Rouse.
Police said the two officers were
trying to arrest him on charge OF
operating a stolen car, and Scott
attempted to escape. While the Of
ficers elung to the sides of the car
u CTdSlltu l1lVO d VI uSh.
Ambulance to Bring Witness
Macdonald said Sergt. Rouse,
whose recovery from broken leg
and other serious injuries suffered
In the accident was given as one OF
the principal reasons for delaying
the inquest, will be driven to the
morgue in an ambulance at 10 am.
Thursday, when the hearing is
scheduled to begin.
This will be most unusual in
quest" the coroner commented. He
said recesses would be called for
lunch and dinner.
SCOTS death was attributed by
the coroner's Office to shock result
ing from an extremely rare reaction
to an anti-tetanus serum injection
given at the jail infirmary, where he
had been ordered hospitalized under
guard following his arrest.
The case aroused widespread in
terest when SCOTS attorney, Curtis
Mitchell, the Washington Council
of the National Negro Congress and
other civic groups demanded an in
vestigation as to whether police
brutality might have caused death.
Deputy Coroner Christopher j.
Murphy, who performed an autopsy
on Scott's body November 3, said
he found only minor cuts and
bruises" After studying the results
of pathological and chemical tests,
DR.. Macdonald issued a finding that
Scott had died as a result of shock
after the administration of anti
tetanus serum.
Skin Test Described.
The coroner said SCOTS fatal re-
action to the injection reported to
have been made to prevent infection
in minor cuts he suffered during the
automobile crash was extremely
rare. He asserted that skin test
designed to reveal persons for whom
the serum would be dangerous had
been made by the inhrmary physi-
clan, with negative results.
Demands for further investigation
of the death received impetus as a
result OF the announcement OF Dr.
Robert S. Jason, head of the pa
thology department of Howard Uni
versity, that he had made post
mortem examination of Scott's body
which did not support the coroner's
findings.
DR.. Jason, who said his examina
ton was made at an undertaking
establishment at the request of
representatives of the local chapter
of the National Negro Congress,
declared he found no needle pune
lures in the body, and said he dis
covered certain organs had been
removed which would not normally
be of interest to medical examiners
in such case.