12. The Hames case was referred to Coalson “because of the strikingly similar clinical histories of the two individuals, with somewhat similar pathological findings.” Hames, an Oklahoma City police officer, died on June 8, 1997. The OCME ruled that his cause of death was “acute pulmonary edema with hyaline membrane disease of unknown etiology” and that his manner of death was “unknown.”
Following the change in the autopsy report, we asked if the ARDS diagnosis was unusual. ME spokesman Ray Blakeney told the Oklahoma Constitution that there had been another case, also in 1997. On June 8, 1997, Maxwell Dennis Hames, 41, died under nearly identical circumstances.
The headline for the story in the June 11, 1997 edition of the Daily Oklahoman read, Unkown Illness Kills City Officer. The case was referred to the ME. Hames was a Technical Investigator for the Oklahoma City Police Department who received a Special Recognition Certificate for his work at the Alfred P. Murrah federal building following the bombing. The ME listed the "Cause of Death" as "ACUTE PULMONARY EDEMA WITH HYALINE MEMBRANE DISEASE." The "Manner of Death" was listed as "UNKOWN."