during the reporting on this story, dateline learned there was a key player who played an outsized role in both cases. here again is lester holt. reporter: four months after anton black s death on his own front doorstep the autopsy report came out. the manner of death, accident. it s an accident. you are begging for your life and they don t get off of him. how is that an accident? reporter: the report was cosigned by maryland s then-chief medical examiner dr. david fowler. you will want to remember his name. it said that while it was likely that the stress of the struggle contributed to his death, no evidence was found that restraint by law enforcement directly caused or significantly contributed to it. the cause of death it stated was a heart defect and a significant contributing condition was bipolar disorder. the day after the autopsy report was released the county prosecutor announced no charges
would be filed. he took somebody s life and don t even get charged? it s like they were exonerated as soon as anton s autopsy report was signed. reporter: the role of the medical examiner was yet another issue captured in the harsh light of anton black s death. our role in legal cases plays a huge part. reporter: dr. roger mitchell is a former chief medical examiner for washington, d.c. today he is head of pathology for howard university and an expert in investigating deaths like anton s that occur in police custody. he was breathing, running, talking before the fight and he is no longer breathing, talking, running and he dies. reporter: from what you learned from the anton black case, what is the proper manner of death? homicide. he was in a fight and lost. and that is a homicide. reporter: which is not the same as a murder, and it doesn t mean webster or anyone else
ultimately happened was that the chief kept that information from the certifying body in maryland. now, maryland now has a law and it s called anton s law that essentially gets rid of these law enforcement bill of rights. is that fair to say? right. so that was repealed in maryland. there are 20 states with law enforcement bills of rights. there are quite a few of them. that sounds terrific. who is against the law enforcement bill of rights when you look at this on here. but these have turned into almost super a steroid version of immunity, hasn t it? right, special protections for law enforcement facing allegations of misconduct. at the innocence project we wish some of these protections were available to our clients. i mean, some of our clients, because they are innocent, don t even seek counsel. everyone deserves counsel. police, civilians. that said, these special protections are beyond the pale.
he was a star wide receiver on the football team. and mid-atlantic champion in the 100, 200, and the high jump. i used to love to see him run. oh, and jump. reporter: after graduating anton enrolled in college. but his sister latoya said his true passion was to build a career as a model. he had the looks. definitely gorgeous. reporter: but in that summer of 2018 anton s behavior changed. to me all of a sudden he got moody, he was crying, he was upset all the time. he went to a hospital? yeah. anton was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a condition that often develops in the teenage years. anton lived in the small town of greensboro, maryland, a few miles from the border with delaware. it s an important point that will soon come into play.
to a charge of misconduct. he receives three years of probation. 11 months after anton s death, officer thomas webster was decertified as a police officer and fired in greensboro, maryland. last month three days after dateline broadcast anton black s family settled a law enforcement against the police officers involved and the towns involved for a total of $5 million. the settlement includes a new use of force policy that restricts restraining a suspect in a prone position and it also calls for training in de-escalation and dealing with mental health issues. when we come back, i m going to bring together all of our guests for an in-depth discussion on how we can reform policing in america.