The Boulder County Coroner’s Office plays an important role in the community in working with grieving families, friends, and next-of-kin in the event of a sudden, unattended, or unexpected death. The Coroner’s Office investigates all sudden and/or unattended deaths throughout the county. The Coroner’s Office is acutely aware of the sensitivity in working with individuals and families during this difficult time. The staff is committed to working in a compassionate, fair, and honest manner with anyone who comes in contact with the office for whatever length of time is needed. The Coroner’s Office is responsible for:

• Identification of the deceased.
• Notification of a death to the legal next of kin.
• Performing autopsies.
• Signing death certificates.
• Working with mortuaries to facilitate final arrangements.
• Testifying in civil and criminal proceedings.
• Distributing accurate and timely information to other investigating agencies and the District Attorney’s Office, the legal next-of-kin, healthcare professionals, insurance companies and the public.

Mission Statement

The mission of the Boulder County Coroner’s Office is to conduct thorough and fair investigations into deaths falling under its jurisdiction. Office staff act with professionalism and integrity to determine the manner and cause of death in a timely manner. The core values of the office are integrity, excellence and compassion:

• The office is committed to maintaining the integrity of the investigations it conducts by setting high standards of accountability and preserving confidentiality.
• The office is committed to serving with excellence by establishing and preserving community trust through professional conduct.
• The office is committed to providing compassion, dignity and respect for the deceased and their families.

Function of the Office

The Office of the Coroner is a creation of the Colorado Constitution and the Colorado Revised Statutes, §30-10-601 through §30-10-612. Under these statutes, the Coroner is required to make all proper inquiries regarding the cause and manner of death of any person under their jurisdiction. The cause of death may be defined as the disease or injury that resulted in the death of an individual. The manner of death is a medico-legal term that describes the circumstances of an individual's death, and is an opinion based on the “preponderance of evidence”. The five manners of death include natural, accident, suicide, homicide and undetermined. The manner of death is classified primarily to aid survivors in understanding the events surrounding an individual's death and for statistical purposes.

Operations Division

The Operations Division encompasses the Investigations and Pathology Divisions. The division oversees the forensic services components of the Office.

Investigations Division

The Investigations Division handles all scene and phone investigations. This is the front line of the office staffed by highly dedicated individuals. They work directly with the District Attorney’s Office, local law enforcement agencies, and medical professionals to gather all necessary information to aid in the investigation process. They then compile all this information for the Coroner and Forensic Pathologist in order to assist them in determining cause and manner of death. They will also work directly with the families of the deceased in the hope to answer as many questions as possible, and to make the process as easy as possible for them and all involved.

Pathology Division

The Pathology Division handles all autopsy examinations. Not all deaths require an autopsy, and autopsies are not performed in every investigation. The decision to perform an autopsy is made by the Coroner in accordance with Colorado State Statute and national guidelines and standards for forensic pathologists. The circumstances of the death and other associated factors contribute to the decision as to whether or not to perform an autopsy. Forensic autopsies are performed by a certified forensic pathologist.

Administration Division

The Administration Division of the office handles accounting, grants, timecards, operational processes, certifications, trainings, and more. They become the familiar face or voice the public will encounter first. They assist office staff with day-to-day administrative functions. This includes answering phones, assisting mortuaries and any outside agencies with administrative items and questions. Additionally, they assist families throughout the process with information wherever possible, or guide them to the most appropriate resources.

Program Highlights

Child Fatality Prevention

This project serves to support the Child Fatality Prevention Act (Article 20.5 of Title 25, Colorado Revised Statutes), which is a statewide, multi-agency effort to prevent child deaths. Pursuant to C.R.S. §25-20.5-404-405, local public health agencies, or agencies designated by local public health agencies, are required to establish and coordinate local, multidisciplinary child fatality prevention review teams. The purpose of local child fatality prevention review teams is to conduct systematic, comprehensive, multidisciplinary reviews of child deaths to better understand how and why children die. The child fatality review process uses a public health approach to identify trends and patterns, to take action, to improve systems, and to implement strategies that may prevent future deaths from occurring. The goal is to reduce the number of child deaths in Colorado due to the following causes: undetermined, unintentional injury, violence, motor vehicle incidents, child abuse and neglect, sudden unexpected infant deaths, and suicide. The coroner’s office serves as the coordinator in holding these meetings.

Historical Committee

This is a committee composed of highly dedicated volunteers who assist the office in preserving historical information from legacy cases in the Coroner’s Office. This group meets regularly at the office where they review all documents, items, or photos associated with legacy cases to document, scan, and ensure their preservation electronically. A further Committee goal is to develop ways to display and share some of the found history of Boulder County.

Internships

The Coroner’s Office offers several areas of interest for internships. These range between the different divisions: Administration, and Operationdivisions. The overall goal is to provide a professional learning experience that offers meaningful, practical work related to a student's field of study or career interest in some or all the areas of the office.

CoVDRS

The Colorado Violent Death Reporting System (CoVDRS) collects information on violent deaths that have occurred in Colorado from a variety of data sources, including death certificates, coroner/medical examiner reports, and law enforcement investigations. The purpose of the data is to provide a more complete understanding of when, where, and how violent deaths occur. CoVDRS captures enhanced information on suicides, homicides, unintentional firearm related deaths, where there has been legal intervention, and undetermined deaths that may be violent in nature.

The Colorado Violent Death Reporting System is part of the larger National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), which is funded through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). There are currently 42 states and territories funded to collect data for the NVDRS. Boulder County Coroner’s Office actively participates in providing county data to CoVDRS.

SUDORS

The State Unintentional Drug OverDose Reporting System (SUDORS) captures detailed information on toxicology and death scene investigations for unintentional drug overdoses. The purpose of the data is to provide a more complete understanding of when, where, and how drug overdoses occur, as well as the other circumstances related to these events.

Family Assistance Coordination

The Coroner’s Office has been funded to provide Family Assistance Services to the families of deceased individuals whose death falls under the jurisdiction of the Coroner’s Office. These services are provided at no cost to the families and have an overall goal to engage the community from the onset of the investigative process up to and including long-term follow up services.

It is an ongoing goal of the Boulder County Coroner’s office to become accredited. This is a multi-year project. Accreditation applies to offices and systems; it is granted through a peer-review system. Its goal is to improve office and system performance through objective evaluation and constructive criticism. Accreditation standards have been prepared and revised by several different accrediting bodies for the purpose of improving the quality of the medico-legal investigation of death. The standards emphasize policies and procedures and represent minimum standards for an adequate medico-legal system. Accreditation is an endorsement indicating that the office or system provides an adequate environment for medico-legal professionals in which to practice their profession, and provides reasonable assurances that the office or system serves its jurisdiction well. It is the objective of the Coroner’s Office that the application of these standards will aid materially in developing and maintaining a high caliber of medico-legal investigation of death for the Boulder County community and the jurisdictions we serve.