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Medical examiner: advocate for deceased Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Spencer Smith, chief deputy medical examiner for the Jackson County Sheriff�s Department, stands in his "office" � the Oregon State Police forensics lab in Central Point. Since "Smitty" took over, the system of handling death investigations in Jackson County has greatly improved, his colleagues say. Investigator changes how unattended deaths treated By Dani Dodge Since Jackson County began its medical examiner program in 1990, a methodical and thorough process has been developed to deal with suspicious and unattended deaths. Because of that program, fatalities that on first glance appeared to be the result of a motor vehicle accidents were ruled as a heart attack instead. Situations that at first blush appeared to be homicide were quickly revealed as suicides. By the numbers Number of deaths investigated in Jackson County, by year 1990 � 778 1991 � 885 1992 � 989 1993 � 1,023 1994 � 1,067 1995 � 1,149 1996 � 1,194 1997 � 1,067 1998 � 1,290 1999 � 1,361 2000 � 1,507 Source: Spencer Smith, chief deputy medical examiner, Jackson County Sheriff�s Department And recently because of the way blood was splattered around a body, Spencer Smith, chief deputy medical examiner for the Jackson County Sheriff�s Department, determined a death to be natural and not the suicide suspected by police. "Death investigators speak for the deceased," said Smith. "You become an advocate for the deceased and the survivors. "If the death investigator doesn�t do it, then there�s nobody who�s going to." In 2000, Smith and four part-time deputy medical examiners investigated 1,507 cases of suspicious or unattended deaths. Sometimes it�s as simple as checking with the decedent�s physician because the person died in the hospital. Other times, it�s a complex procedure that requires checking the body at the scene, talking to the family and looking up a medical history. On those complex cases, Dr. James Olson is called to do an autopsy to determine cause of death. Death causes Causes of investigated deaths in 2000 Natural causes � 1,390 Motor vehicle accidents � 26 Accidental deaths � 43 Suicides � 39 (five were teen-agers) Homicides � 5 Sudden Infant Death Syndrome � 0 Undetermined � 3 Legal intervention (such as officer-involved shootings) � 1 Source: Spencer Smith, chief deputy medical examiner, Jackson County Sheriff�s Department And although it seems like it should just be this way, it hasn�t always. Only 20 or 30 percent of counties nationwide have full-time death investigators like Smith. Most are just part-timers � officers who have a little training in the profession. Olson, who is the medical examiner for southwest Oregon, said the program in Jackson County is "outstanding" and Smith has done a "superb job." "Without him it would have been extremely hard to provide coverage to counties, especially Jackson," Olson said. Smith, known affectionately as Smitty to people in law enforcement, has a rumpled Colombo-type charm, except when he�s on a case. Then he becomes intense. His large size seems more imposing and he carries himself like an angry bear. County Counsel Mike Jewett remembers when he was a defense attorney going head-to-head with Smith. "As a former adversary, I can tell you, he�s tough," Jewett recently told county commissioners. After 35 years in law enforcement, Smith knows police investigation. With more than 14 years of training in death investigation, he�s an expert in his field. In 1999, he was named a nationally registered medicolegal death investigator, one of only 120 nationwide. Back in 1988, though, he was just a detective in the sheriff�s department and one of 54 medical examiners. "The thought was with that many, there was always one on duty," Smith said. "When you have that many deputy medical examiners, how many deaths a year do they investigate a year? It will be very few." He said the randomness hurt the program. "If you do death investigation all the time, you start recognizing things you won�t realize if you only go to four or eight a year," he said. In 1988, former District Attorney Bill Juba realized that some death cases weren�t being properly handled. Some of the problems are still coming to light. In one early 1980�s case a 13-month-old infant was pronounced dead after his mother said he had gotten caught in the strap of a high chair and hung himself while she was accidentally locked out of the house. Recently, Medford police were contacted by police in Washington. The officer there said the woman�s relatives thought the case may have been homicide. "We�ve reviewed the reports and the medical reports and unfortunately, because of lack of expertise at the time, it wasn�t documented well enough to determine if it was an accident or murder," Smith said. To address the issue he saw even back then, Juba appointed Smith to head the medical examiner program. "I had 21 years of law enforcement and I thought I knew what I was doing," Smith said. "But Dr. Olson asked me questions I couldn�t answer. I started recognizing that law enforcement training in death investigation is mostly murder investigation and how to process murder scenes." In 1989, he went to the Saint Louis University School of Medicine and began to really learn how to "investigate a death, not just a crime." But at 60, Smith is getting close to retirement. Last week, he made a presentation to the Jackson County Board of Commissioners about his program, asking for continued support and hinting at his need for increased funding. He hopes to start training someone else to fill his shoes. "I could have retired five years ago," Smith said. "The only reason I�m here is because I�ve helped build this program with (former District Attorney) Bill Juba and Dr. Olson and I don�t want to see it go away." Reach reporter Dani Dodge at 776-4471, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.