Deputy Medical Examiner - Death Investigator

Racine, County of (WI); Mount Pleasant (WI); On-site; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Part time

Job summary

Deputy Medical Examiner - Death Investigator in Racine County, WI conducts death investigations to determine the manner and cause of death, gathering physical evidence, interviewing witnesses, and documenting death scenes with photos and diagrams in accordance with state statutes.

This role supports the Medical Examiner and Chief Deputy, requiring an Associate’s degree in a related field and medicolegal death investigation experience; ABMDI is a plus.

Qualifications

• Must work a minimum of 24 hours per month.
• Ability to work nights, weekends, and holidays on a rotating 24-hour shift schedule.
• Criminal records background check and drug testing as per Racine County policy.
• Valid Wisconsin driver’s license and access to a vehicle.

Responsibilities

• Conduct investigations of deaths in Racine County as requested by the Medical Examiner or Chief Deputy Medical Examiner.
• Order medicolegal autopsies as needed or required by law.
• Perform or order medicolegal tests to determine cause of death.
• Interact with next-of-kin and coordinate with law enforcement, funeral directors, attorneys, and physicians.
• Testify in court on autopsy findings and conclusions.
• Carry out other duties as assigned.

Skills

Medicolegal death investigation

Evidence gathering

Witness interviewing

Court testimony

Education

Associate’s degree in forensic death investigation or related field

Tools

Microsoft Word

Outlook

Job description

*ON CALL* Deputy Medical Examiner - Death Investigator is responsible for conducting death investigations to determine the manner and cause of death including the gathering of physical evidence, interviewing material witnesses, and documenting death scenes through photographs and diagrams in accordance with the duties required of the Medical Examiner as prescribed by Chapter 2, Article V, Division 10 of the Racine County Code of Ordinances and Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 979 and Chapter 59.34 through 59.375.

• Conduct investigations of deaths in Racine County as requested by the Medical Examiner or Chief Deputy Medical Examiner.
• Order medicolegal autopsies as needed or required by law.
• Perform or order such other pathological, toxicological or medicolegal tests as may be required to determine the cause of death.
• Interact with next-of-kin of deceased including notification of death and follow up information with law enforcement investigators, funeral directors, attorneys, and physicians.
• Testify in a court-of-law to facts and conclusions disclosed by autopsies performed or ordered while carrying out the duties of Deputy Medical Examiner.
• All other duties as assigned.

Supervision Received:

Supervision received from the Medical Examiner and Chief Deputy Medical Examiner.

• Associate’s degree from an accredited college/university having taken courses in forensic death investigation, medical specialization or a related field with a minimum of one year of medicolegal death investigative experience or a minimum of three years emergency medical, nursing or other related experience desired.
• Other combinations of education and experience that provide knowledge, skills, and abilities in medicolegal death investigation may be considered.
• ABMDI certification is a plus, however, not required.
• Valid Wisconsin driver’s license, automobile insurance and access to an automobile is required.

Job Requirements

• Must work a minimum of 24 hours per month.
• Ability to work nights, weekends, and holidays on a rotating 24-hour shift schedule.
• Ability to attend training in medicolegal death investigation. Training may require out-of-state travel and expenses provided by Racine County. Wages during training for part-time on call persons will be provided by Racine County.
• Required to carry a cellular telephone provided by Racine County for emergency response and verbally reply to the Medical Examiner/designee or Racine County Joint Dispatch when called, even if unable to respond to the call.
• Ability to use medical and legal investigative techniques and procedures in a setting consistent with the duties of the position. Deal with the modes and manners of death and its medical manifestations regarding the body, scene and history.
• Requires excellent verbal and written communication skills including demonstrated ability to effectively interact with the next-of-kin of the deceased, law enforcement investigators, attorneys, physicians, and other persons in highly stressful situations.
• Applicant shall not be convicted of any felony or misdemeanor punishable by incarceration. The applicant will agree to a criminal records background check prior to appointment and drug testing in accordance with Racine County’s hiring policy.
• Requires proficiency in the use of personal computer operating programs (Microsoft Office Word, Outlook) to complete and submit reports and communicate with the Medical Examiner’s Office. A laptop computer will be provided by Racine County for this purpose.
• Comply with the provisions of the Racine County Human Resources Policy Manual as it applies to the Deputy Medical Examiner’s position.

Physical Requirements

• Continuous (67-100% of assigned case) hearing and use of near vision.
• Frequent (34-66% of assigned case) standing and feeling with hands/fingers.
• Occasional (1-33% of assigned case) walking, sitting, stooping, kneeling, crouching, climbing).

Working Conditions

• Frequent (34-66% of assigned case) inside work, extreme hot to cold temperature changes and noxious odors with exposure to aerosol bacteria and chemicals, AIDS, COVID and hepatitis.
• Occasional (1-33% of assigned case) outside work, extreme cold temperature, wet and humid conditions, and hazards such as mechanical, electrical, chemicals, burns, explosives, radiant energy/radiation, heights above 12 feet from ladder or other equipment, physical attack or injury, fast moving vehicles, and bacteriological agents.

Equipment Used

• Automobile, calculator, camera, copy machine, fax machine, flashlight, general medical equipment such as needles, syringes, vials, measuring devices, personal computer, personal protective equipment such as breathing apparatus, hearing and eye protection, protective gloves, shoe covers, luminous safety vest, and antibacterial agents.

This description has been prepared to assist in properly evaluating various classes of responsibilities, skill, working conditions, etc., present in the classification. It is intended to indicate the kinds of tasks and characteristic levels of work difficulty that will be required of positions that will be given this title. It is not intended as a complete list of specific duties and responsibilities, nor is it intended to limit or in any way modify the right of any supervisor to assign, direct or control the work of employees under supervision. The use of a particular expression or illustration describing duties shall not be held to exclude other duties not mentioned that are of similar kind or level of difficulty.