recently deceased 1968 Democratic Presidential nominee George McGovern—whom Rosenbaum had covered in earlier years. Rosenbaum had been tasked to write McGovern's obituary years earlier, in accordance with the Times practice of preparing and storing obituaries for notable people while they are still alive. Leadership and teaching For 25 years, Rosenbaum served on the steering committee of The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Rosenbaum mentored younger reporters, and taught at his alma mater, Dartmouth College, at Stanford University, and at other colleges and universities. Death and aftermath Rosenbaum's 2006 death, under dramatic circumstances, led to reforms in the troubled emergency services system of the District of Columbia, and brought attention to related public safety issues nationwide. Death Less than a month after his retirement, Rosenbaum died on January 8, 2006, from a brain injury caused by a blow to the head during a robbery on January 6, near his Washington, D.C. home. Emergency services personnel mistakenly thought him intoxicated, and delayed his treatment, and emergency room staff at Howard University Hospital ignored him for hours—factors alleged to contribute to his death. Criminal case After store surveillance cameras revealed they had used Rosenbaum's credit cards, Michael C. Hamlin and Percy Jordan, Jr. turned themselves into authorities and confessed to the robbery. Hamlin agreed to testify against his cousin, Percy Jordan, Jr., accusing him of killing Rosenbaum with a heavy plastic pipe. Both men were convicted, and sent to prison. System reform settlement Rosenbaum's family—including his widow, Virginia (a prominent corporate governance analyst, for many years lead analyst for Washington's Investor Responsibility Research Center), brother, Marcus (a senior editor at NPR in Washington), son, Daniel (a photographer for The Washington Times), daughter, Dottie, and son-in-law, Toby—charged Washington's emergency services system with contributing to Rosenbaum’s death. An investigation validated their concerns. The D.C. inspector general's "scathing", high-profile, public report described the circumstances of Rosenbaum's death as "an unacceptable chain of failure", blaming delayed or inappropriate responses by firefighters, paramedics, police officers and hospital staff—and citing systemic and cultural failures that plagued the District's emergency services system. The report led to a public apology by the City's Fire and EMS Chief, and drew national attention to the issues raised about emergency services nationwide. Rosenbaum's family agreed to forgo a suit against the city in exchange for the creation of a task force to investigate and improve Washington's emergency services. In cooperation with incoming