TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
The medical examiner who ruled that a teenager kicked and struck by boot camp guards died of a blood disorder is being accused by another family of covering up an alleged 1977 beating by police officers.

Bay County medical examiner Dr. Charles Siebert covered up the death of Michael Niesen by ruling that he suffered injuries in a car accident and not in a beating by officers, according to a complaint filed with the state by John Niesen, the deceased's brother.

Siebert is facing a similar accusation by the family of Martin Lee Anderson, the 14-year-old boy who died last January after collapsing at a boot camp operated by the Bay County Sheriff's Office. Siebert has denied both accusations.

Security videotape taken at the camp shows Anderson struggling with up to nine guards, but Siebert ruled in his autopsy that the boy died of sickle cell disorder. A second autopsy performed by another medical examiner in March concluded Anderson died of suffocation from having ammonia pills forced up his nose while his mouth was covered.

"You want to know what goes on behind closed doors? These people make decisions that affect peoples' lives, and we're just supposed to sit back and take it," John Niesen said. "Don't let this happen to this young man's family."

Niesen said Siebert quashed a state investigation into his brother's death when he supported a first autopsy finding that his brother died from car accident injuries.

While he acknowledges Michael was ejected from a vehicle the night of his death, John Niesen says angry police officers fatally beat him. He showed an autopsy photo of his brother, who had large cuts and bruises on his head, to support his story.

Two other families joined the group to share stories about autopsies of loved ones that they accused Siebert of botching, including a mother who's son Siebert had ruled committed suicide.

Another woman, Frances Terry, claims Siebert botched an autopsy when her daughter and husband died in a September 2004 tornado.

The autopsy report of the daughter, Donna Faye Reed, was signed by Siebert and said "the prostate gland and testes are unremarkable" - organs that belong to men. The autopsy of Reed's father, James Terry, failed to mention major scars on his body that were obvious.

The families urged Florida's medical examiners commission to revoke Siebert's license, saying they want to testify at any upcoming hearings about the doctor. Officials with the commission did not respond to a phone message left Thursday.

"These families came here as victims of Dr. Siebert's autopsy findings," said Benjamin Crump, the Tallahassee attorney representing Anderson's parents. "They believe Dr. Siebert always covers up for law enforcement. The first time is an instance, the second time is an occurrence. But the third time is a pattern."

But Siebert again stood by his findings Thursday and said the accusations made against him were untrue.

"This is clearly an emotional reaction from a family who has suffered an unfortunate loss," he said in a statement. "However, filing baseless complaints against me is completely unwarranted. My medical opinion may not be popular, but it is my job to issue conclusions rooted in scientific fact."

The accusations come six days before a legislative deadline passes for Gov. Jeb Bush to sign the Martin Lee Anderson act, a measure legislators approved last month to eliminate funding for state-run juvenile boot camps. Instead, officials want to move the money into residential programs they describe as less militaristic. Bush has said he supports the bill.