
Roger A. Mitchell, Jr. MD
Chief Medical Examiner - Office of the Chief Medical Examiner
Clinical Professor of Pathology - The George Washington University
Associate Professor of Surgery - Howard University
Dr. Roger Mitchell Jr. is board certified in Anatomic and Forensic Pathology by the American Board of Pathology and a Fellow with the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME). Dr. Mitchell is a member of the National Medical Association (NMA) and serves as Chair of the NMA Task Force on Gun Violence. He represents NMA on the Research Advisory Committee for the American Foundation for Firearm Reduction in Medicine (AFFIRM). He is a graduate of Howard University, Washington DC, and New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ. Dr. Mitchell is licensed to practice medicine in Washington DC. He has performed nearly 1400 autopsy examinations in his career and has testified as an expert on numerous cases. He began the study of forensic science and violence prevention as a Forensic Biologist for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – DNA Unit in January 1997.
As the Chief Medical Examiner of a major city, Dr. Mitchell is uniquely positioned to understand the social determinants that lead to the violence affecting our most vulnerable communities. He has a great interest in Violence as a public health issue and has co-authored position papers on The Violence Epidemic in the African American Community for the National Medical Association (NMA) and the Definition, Investigation, Postmortem Examination and Reporting of Deaths in Custody for the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME).
His most recent article is entitled: Incidence and Cause of Potentially Preventable Death after Civilian Public Mass Shooting in the US that is published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Dr. Mitchell recently served on the Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB) for the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST). He is sought after for his expertise on violence, death investigation, mass fatality management, and has lectured for the Governments of Egypt, Bangladesh, Mumbai, London and several countries in Africa and Asia associated with the CDC Foundation Data for Health Project.
Lastly, Dr. Roger A. Mitchell Jr. is a licensed minister serving as a mentor in his local community. Dr. Mitchell often shares how drugs and violence have shaped his own life. He is a husband to his wife of 17 years and a father to his three children. Dr. Mitchell has pledged his professional career and personal time to the service of others.