SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. – The Spokane County Medical Examiner (ME) has ended its contract with the Kootenai County Coroner, leaving Kootenai County in a bind for conducting autopsies.
Dr. Duke Johnson, Kootenai County Coroner, expressed surprise at the news, noting that the Spokane ME’s Office will no longer perform autopsies for them, at least for now. This decision affects the annual 70 autopsies typically conducted for Kootenai County.
Kootenai County Commissioner Leslie Duncan stated that Spokane has reduced the number of autopsies over the past few years. The contract previously required $140,000 annually from Kootenai County taxpayers…