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Shawn Dodson · April 18, 2002, 03:16 PM

A dramatic, well-written account of events; nothing less than I've come to expect from Dean.

However I fear the following descriptions of Ben Grogan's visual impairment may not be true:[list=1][*]"Grogan, nearly blind without his corrective lenses...," and[*]"...Grogan unable to clearly locate his target without his glasses..."[/list=1] The reason I believe these descriptions are fallacious is because in the early 1990's I crossed paths with the FBI Medical Director (I don't have my notes handy otherwise I'd have provided his name), as a result of a law enforcement related article I'd published, or was publishing, about police officers with subnormal vision and who must wear prescription eyewear while on duty. Our discussion included the Miami incident, and I inquired of him about the extent of Grogan's defective visual acuity. The medical director stated that Grogan's uncorrected vision "Was not that bad." I tried to get him to be more specific, asking him a question along the lines of, "If 20/20 is considered normal vision, then Grogan's vision was 20/what?" He explained to me that the data I was asking about was Grogan's private medical information and that he couldn't share it with me. So I asked if Grogan would have been considered legally blind (20/200) without his glasses, and the medical director said "No."

Based on personal experience, being nearsighted myself (like Grogan), and also suffering astigmatism, my vision exceeds 20/200 (I'm legally blind without corrective lenses). To the best of my knowledge my visual acuity is worse than Grogan's yet all of the published descriptions of his visual impairment would be an exaggeration if used to describe me.

In addition, in Part II of The Ultimate After Action Report, the medical illustration showing the wound track of Dove's 9mm 115gr Silvertip through Platt's right upper arm is erroneous. About four years ago I discovered this error and brought it to the attention of Dr. Anderson, and he agreed with me that the illustration, as well as his description of the wound path, is incorrect.

Platt's autopsy report states the bullet passed through the biceps muscle, and the autopsy photos indicate this as well. However Anderson's medical drawing shows the bullet as passing through the triceps muscle. Anderson stated that he would revise the drawing and wound description in a future update.

April 18, 2002, 03:16 PM	#14
Shawn Dodson Junior member Join Date: December 16, 1998 Location: Titusville, FL, USA Posts: 1,030	A dramatic, well-written account of events; nothing less than I've come to expect from Dean. However I fear the following descriptions of Ben Grogan's visual impairment may not be true:[list=1][]"Grogan, nearly blind without his corrective lenses...," and[]"...Grogan unable to clearly locate his target without his glasses..."[/list=1] The reason I believe these descriptions are fallacious is because in the early 1990's I crossed paths with the FBI Medical Director (I don't have my notes handy otherwise I'd have provided his name), as a result of a law enforcement related article I'd published, or was publishing, about police officers with subnormal vision and who must wear prescription eyewear while on duty. Our discussion included the Miami incident, and I inquired of him about the extent of Grogan's defective visual acuity. The medical director stated that Grogan's uncorrected vision "Was not that bad." I tried to get him to be more specific, asking him a question along the lines of, "If 20/20 is considered normal vision, then Grogan's vision was 20/what?" He explained to me that the data I was asking about was Grogan's private medical information and that he couldn't share it with me. So I asked if Grogan would have been considered legally blind (20/200) without his glasses, and the medical director said "No." Based on personal experience, being nearsighted myself (like Grogan), and also suffering astigmatism, my vision exceeds 20/200 (I'm legally blind without corrective lenses). To the best of my knowledge my visual acuity is worse than Grogan's yet all of the published descriptions of his visual impairment would be an exaggeration if used to describe me. In addition, in Part II of The Ultimate After Action Report, the medical illustration showing the wound track of Dove's 9mm 115gr Silvertip through Platt's right upper arm is erroneous. About four years ago I discovered this error and brought it to the attention of Dr. Anderson, and he agreed with me that the illustration, as well as his description of the wound path, is incorrect. Platt's autopsy report states the bullet passed through the biceps muscle, and the autopsy photos indicate this as well. However Anderson's medical drawing shows the bullet as passing through the triceps muscle. Anderson stated that he would revise the drawing and wound description in a future update.