Who is responsible for conducting imaging and lab work related to investigations?

The correct answer is the Office of Chief Medical Examiner. This office is responsible for overseeing death investigations, which includes coordinating imaging studies and laboratory analyses that are necessary to determine the cause and manner of death. The medical examiner's role integrates forensic pathology with various scientific disciplines, ensuring that all forensic evidence is properly collected and analyzed. This includes the use of imaging techniques like X-rays or CT scans and laboratory tests such as toxicology or histology, which are essential in a thorough investigation.

In contrast, local police departments may assist in the investigative process and handle the initial aspects of a death investigation, but they do not perform medical examinations or lab work. Emergency room staff may conduct preliminary assessments and provide immediate medical care, but they are not involved in the formal investigation of deaths unless it pertains to their direct treatment of a patient. Independent laboratory services operate under the directives of the medical examiner or other officials but do not direct investigations or determine the need for imaging and laboratory work independently. Their role is supportive rather than regulatory in the context of death investigations.