The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners has authorized the county coroner to appoint five deputies.
State law allows one deputy per county coroner, unless local county governing authorities decide otherwise. Cherokee’s coroner needs five assistants “due to the volume of work … (and) the sporadic nature of the calls received for investigation purposes,” according to a staff memo to the county board.
County Manager Jerry Cooper told commissioners that the additional manpower would not cost the county more money, as the deputies are paid only per call – $175 for a standard case. “It just gives the chief coroner more options to rotate (personnel) in the event someone is on vacation or out sick,” Cooper said.
According to the county job description, a deputy coroner is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and takes rotating call shifts in addition to scheduled office hours. The deputy conducts death investigations, secures complete medical and legal information, assists relatives, transports bodies, assists with autopsies as needed, and works with the coroner on deaths involving police investigations, among other duties.
Information: http://bit.ly/2kFOPha
About the Author
