Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Ada County proclaims Jan. 19–25 as Coroner and Medicolegal Death Investigation Professionals Week; coroner updates commissioners
Summary
The Ada County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted a proclamation recognizing Jan. 19–25, 2025 for coroner and medicolegal death investigation professionals. Ada County Coroner Rich Griffin updated the board on staffing, an incoming CT scanner and a new forensic pathologist.
The Ada County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on Jan. 14 to adopt a proclamation designating Jan. 19–25, 2025, as Coroner and Medicolegal Death Investigation Professionals Week in Ada County.
The proclamation notes that the Ada County Coroner's Office provides medicolegal death-investigation services across much of the region and aims to meet national standards for death investigations. The board approved the proclamation without recorded opposition.
Ada County Coroner Rich Griffin gave the board an operational update after the proclamation. Griffin told commissioners his office remains “on track” overall, reporting increases in tissue and organ donations and noting lower suicide counts as positive trends. He said the office continues to manage workloads tied to population growth.
Griffin said the office expects a CT scanner to be operational around June; he said the scanner will reduce the need for some invasive autopsies by allowing noninvasive full-body imaging in cases where that suffices to establish cause and manner of death. He also said a new forensic pathologist, Dr. Ken Gallagher, is scheduled to start Thursday, which will bring the office back to full staffing and should help the office catch up on outstanding cases and reports.
Griffin discussed limits on tissue or organ procurement in some cases, saying that in a small number of homicides the prosecuting attorney has advised against procurement. He did not give specific case counts during the update.
The board did not take additional action beyond adopting the proclamation and receiving the coroner's report.
Commissioner John Daley presided over the meeting; the board recorded the proclamation and then paused for a photo with coroner staff before continuing business.
