MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) -- The city's chief medical examiner was attacked, bound with barbed wire and left with what appeared to be a bomb tied to his body, police said Sunday.

The device did not explode and Medical Examiner O.C. Smith escaped Saturday night's attack with minor injuries. Police said it appeared that it would have been possible for the device to explode.

The device appeared similar to a crude bomb found in March in a stairway of the Shelby County Regional Forensic Center, where Smith and his staff work. The bomb was destroyed by police and no one was injured.

Deputy Police Chief Bob Wright declined to speculate on why Smith was attacked but noted that he has helped in several criminal investigations.

Smith and his staff perform autopsies on the bodies of crime victims and often provide information used in prosecutions.

Smith was leaving the forensic center when one or more attackers threw a chemical in his face and overpowered him. A security guard found him two and a half hours later, tied up and lying near a parking lot.


[url]www.cnn.com/2002/US/06/02/memphis.attack.ap/index.html[/url]