Pathologist Sergio Sarita Valdez is critical of the fact that dead bodies are being removed from crime scenes without a coroner present. He said in Listín Diario that this country should create a National Institute of Forensic Science because at the moment bodies are being removed in cases of violent death without being inspected and as a result, evidence is being erased. He says in order to comply with legal procedure, police should wait for an assistant district attorney and a coroner before moving a body. Sarita Valdez says it appears we are more worried about the living than the dead but “it’s important to investigate violent deaths because the peace and security of the living depend on a thorough investigation of intentional killings.” But a spokesman for the National Police said in response that "when a person is wounded by a police patrol, immediately the first thing the police do is bring the victim to the hospital to determine if he’s alive or dead.” The public debate on this issue began last week when a man’s body was left at the scene of an accident for ten hours due to a shortage of coroners.
