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Funeral director contradicts ME's report on man struck, killed by former DeLand officer

DeLAND, Fla. — A funeral director who examined the body of a man who was struck and killed by a DeLand police officer in Volusia County said the victim's body showed obvious signs of trauma, which contradicts what the chief medical examiner said in his report.

Police dashcam video released on earlier this month shows then-DeLand police Officer James Harris in hot pursuit, chasing Marlon Brown after Brown jumped from a car and took off on foot.

The video shows Brown slip and fall but as he was getting back up, he was struck by the front of Harris' patrol car.

James Cusack, with 40 years of experience, said he has seen it all as a funeral director and that Brown's body had multiple fractures, a report that goes against the medical examiner's report that stated Brown had no fractures.

The medical examiner's report claims Brown wasn't struck by the vehicle, but slipped and was run over. In the video, however, it appear Brown was struck.

That medical examiner's autopsy was done by Dr. Shiping Bao, the same examiner who did Trayvon Martin's' autopsy that offered conflicting testimony during George Zimmerman's trial. He has since been fired from his position.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Brown's family's attorney, Benjamin Crump, said Cusack's claim is proof that justice has not been served.

Crump is questioning what was presented to the grand jury and how it was presented.

The State Attorney's Office sent the case to a grand jury, but jurors decided charges were not warranted against Harris.

Harris, however, was eventually fired from the department.

Brown's family said they feel that anyone else in the officer's position would have been charged with vehicular homicide.

Bao was recently fired from his medical examiner position.