Summary:

Assists the Coroner the department’s operations, which include the investigation of deaths occurring within the jurisdiction as required by law. Will be required to investigate or assist the Coroner on all suspicious or criminal deaths. 24 on 24 off on call every other weekend. And will be required to respond to scenes as need.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

• The Deputy Coroner job will consist of 75% in field investigations, with 25% office duties.

• Provides administrative assistance to the Coroner in recordkeeping.

• Manages investigations to determine cause and fix responsibilities for accidental, violent, or unexplained deaths to obtain an accurate cause of death. Consults with the Coroner on deaths involved with law enforcement agencies. Employee will testify at inquest, hearings, and court trails (which include criminal, civil, and Federal court).

• Assures departmental cooperation with law enforcement agencies and personnel, medical personnel and funeral directors. Assures effective communications between Coroner’s office and other County, State and Federal agencies and departments.

• Will be required to attend training in State and out of State as training and certifications become available.

• Obtains and secures complete medical and legal information and documents necessary for conducting death investigations and inquests. Assist relatives of the deceased by providing information concerning circumstances of death.

• Receives and responds to the initial report of death or request for cremation;

• Creates an office record with the preliminary information;

• Determines jurisdiction and appropriate level of response and investigation required;

• Exercises independent judgment in the absence of the coroner.

• Communicates and coordinates with the Coroner, Chief(s), family members, employers, witnesses, and Personnel from law enforcement, hospital, medical, civil, funeral home, insurance agency and other fields;

• Responds as appropriate to the death or injury scene or body location; inspects and documents by means of notes, diagrams, sketches, measurements and photographs the condition of the locale, body, and other pertinent objects on, near or associated with the body;

• Makes preliminary external examination of the body as appropriate with reference to identification of findings and factors related to time, place, manner, and cause of injury, disease or death, and with Reference to physical characteristics documentation and identity;

• Obtains pertinent past and present medical, social, family, and other history from persons and sources Associated with the decedent;

• Prepares for collection and removal the body and any pertinent valuables or evidentiary materials and Facilitates removal under chain of custody when required;

• Ensures preservation and storage of evidentiary items, records, the body, and any associated effects;

• Prepares and delivers required documentation and reports as directed; Reports must be done Within 3-5 hours of scene investigation on the majority of cases

• Initiates necessary follow-up investigations and communications

• Facilitates the admission and discharge of the deceased at the Forensic Center;

• Performs required preliminary procedures and studies on deceased needed to determine depth and breadth of investigation or the need for autopsy;

• Obtains continuing education and training as available and directed in order to maintain high standards and implement new investigative methods;

• Maintains proper inventory par levels for autopsy, disaster, and field investigation supplies and equipment. Only required for vehicle stocking.

• Must be able to listen intently show respect and compassion for the family/ survivors while controlling the scene, and one’s own personal emotions.

• Ability to operate county vehicles in adverse weather & road conditions

Essential Duties (continued)

• In the event of a mass fatality in Benton County the Deputy Coroner will be required to be available and able to work as much as 48-78 hrs. Shifts with very little break time provided. He or she must be able to coordinate ground/field and morgue operations independently while assisting with normal daily operations. He or she must report directly to the Coroner before press releases or major decision making.

Qualification Requirements:

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge,

skill and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

None

Education and/or Experience:

High school diploma or general education degree (GED) with additional course(s); work interpersonal communication, social sciences and training in investigative techniques , photography, medical terminology, anatomy; or experience equal to the training. A minimum of 2 years of death investigation experience and/or 2 years of Law Enforcement experience and/or 2 years of experience in the medical field or any combination of education and experience is required. Must be ABMDI (American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators) Or ARMDI (Arkansas State) certified within 12 months; must be a certified Phlebotomy Specialist by the ASCL; must possess a valid State of Arkansas Driver’s License. He or she must possess knowledge of the Arkansas State Mass Fatality Plan, DEMORT, Arkansas State Crime Lab and KENYAN International protocols. As well as following the Guidelines of the Benton County Coroners policy. Must be able to recognize or determine if this event is classified as Accidental, Natural, or Homicide due to an act of terror or violence. Must have knowledge of proper evidence collection and preservation. A Pre-employment criminal background investigation, drug screening and driver's record check is required.

Other Skills:

Language Skills Ability to read and interpret documents such as medical reports, accident reports and procedure manuals. Ability to write routine reports and correspondence. Ability to speak effectively before media members, police authorities and general public.

Other Skills: (continued)

Independent Judgment: The position of Deputy Coroner involves a high degree of independent judgment, and must have the ability to review all available options when presented with a suspious death or a problem, and knows when to enlist either other more knowledgeable personnel or resources when appropriate and make informed, complete decisions with minimum or no supervision.

Mathematical Skills Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.

Reasoning Ability: Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral, or diagram form. Ability to deal with problems involving several variables in widely different circumstances. Must have the ability to

exercise mature judgment and react effectively; in an emergency or highly stressful situations. Must have the ability to make informed and complete decisions.

Other Skills and abilities: Ability to obtain information and evidence by observations, record examinations and interviews and have the ability to analyze and evaluate all information obtained during the investigation(s). Must have the ability to interpret and comply with laws and regulations governing investigations. Must have a working knowledge of methods, procedures, and techniques used by Law Enforcement. Must have a working knowledge of medical terminology, physiology, anatomy and toxicology. Ability to operate county vehicles in adverse weather conditions, and highly encouraged to excel in the field of forensic sciences.

Working Relationships:

Must be able to build and maintain professional relationships with the various agencies, health care providers, funeral directors, and County Officials. In addition, the deputy coroner must interact with emotional family members of the deceased.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand; walk; sit; and talk; or hear. The employee is occasionally required to reach with hands and arms and stoop; kneel; crouch; or crawl. The employee must routinely lift and/or move 250 to 350 pounds independently, and occasionally lift and move up to 700 pounds with assistance. Specific vision abilities required by this job includes close vision, distance vision, color vision peripheral vision and depth perception.

Work Environment:

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions.

While performing duties of this job, the employee is frequently exposed to extreme outside weather conditions while investigating scenes. The employee is also exposed to toxic or caustic substances, bio-hazardous materials or blood borne pathogens, moving mechanical equipment and high, precarious places. Noise levels from quiet to loud may vary as well.

You will be subjected to very hazardous weather conditions, unstable structures, extremely dirty conditions, with numerous sharp and unsafe edges, and biological or bio-hazardous exposure risk. Extreme vigilance of surrounding and a strong physiological ability to deal with high levels of stress and sleep deprivation is a must.