Did you know our own Pierce County’s Medical Examiner (ME) Office turns 40 years old in a couple of days? The office was established back on January 21, 1984, when Pierce County converted from the elected coroner model to a professional medical examiner. You did not need any specific experience to be elected as the coroner, but today our Medical Examiner is a licensed medical doctor with a specialty in forensic pathology.
A lot has changed since the ME’s office began its operations four decades ago. Luckily, there are still “historical artifacts” that have been retained, including old logbooks from the coroner days of 70’s (in cursive!), case information typed on index cards, and statistics reports printed with dot-matrix printer graphics!
Today, the team of highly skilled professionals (including two forensic pathologists) at the ME’s office work as a team to support our ever-growing community. They use state of the art tools and techniques to determine cause and manner of death – helping bring criminals to justice and providing closure for grieving families.
The world of the Medical Examiner is not a place most of us ever step into – thankfully! That’s why I featured the office in an edition of Inside Pierce County a couple of years ago. I’m happy to share it with you, again.
My congratulations to Dr. Cline and her team as they celebrate their milestone. I’m excited to stop by to help mark the occasion with the team next week – I hear there will be cake!
Thanks for reading.
Bruce.
