Around 3 a.m. on a September morning in 1983, police tried to arrest a young black man, Michael Stewart for writing graffiti on a subway-station wall. Police say Stewart became violent; he was brought to Bellevue Hospital bound with medical tape, handcuffed, and in a coma. He later died. While an autopsy ruled the cause was heart failure, Stewart's family claimed the city coroner, Elliot Gross, had removed the victim's eyes to eliminate signs he was beaten by police. Gross denied the charges, but accusations in the Stewart case, among others, dogged his career. The accused police officers eventually were acquitted.
As he often did with his late brother, David, filmmaker Albert Maysles adds another layer to Stewart's story: He picks up his camera and interrogates a piece of art inspired by the 20-year-old case. Watch as Maysles and his son, Philip, reconstruct the eerie acquaintance of coroner and killed.
