Jackson’s doctor questioned, again

Los Angeles police on Saturday again questioned Michael Jackson’s doctor, while the family of the pop music icon ordered its own private autopsy two days after his death shocked fans around the world.

Jackson’s father issued a statement urging fans not to despair because the singer “will continue to live on in each and every one of you.” The family sought a second autopsy — the official one was conducted on Friday — amid reports about the 50-year-old singer’s reliance on prescription medications.

Jackson’s personal physician, Texas cardiologist Dr. Conrad Murray, who was with the singer when he collapsed at his rented mansion on Thursday, hired an attorney to accompany him to what was expected to be a lengthy meeting with the Los Angeles Police Department late on Saturday.

“Dr. Murray is considered to be a witness to the events surrounding Michael Jackson’s death and he is not a suspect,” Houston law firm Stradley, Chernoff & Alford said in a statement.

“Dr. Murray hired legal counsel to help guide him through the police investigation process. The law firm was hired to make sure the police investigation is conducted properly.”

An LAPD spokeswoman said she had no updates on the meeting, three hours after it was scheduled to begin.

According to media reports, Jackson was injected with the narcotic painkiller Demerol shortly before he went into cardiac arrest. Murray was desperately trying to revive Jackson when paramedics arrived, and he rode with the singer in an ambulance to the hospital where the pop star was pronounced dead.

The official autopsy, conducted on Friday, failed to determine what killed Jackson, pending toxicology tests that were expected to take up to six weeks. Such tests could reveal the presence of drugs in his system.