Citizens’ Police Academy: Week Three

To say I was a bit apprehensive about this week’s Citizens’ Police Academy class would be… well, true.

Wednesday night’s presenter was Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek, someone I’ve spoken to in the past for work purposes.

I’m not an uber-squeamish person -- needles don’t freak me out, the sight of blood doesn’t make me wig, and hospitals don’t give me the heebee-jeebees.

But death and dead bodies? That’s where I cross the line.

You should have seen my face when I learned what a cadaver was for the first time, and that my college used them for educational purposes -- and that the Gross Anatomy lab was right next to my math class.

I'm sure the professor I was interviewing for my college's newspaper couldn't wait for the poor communications major to leave so they could laugh without hurting her feelings.

But I digress...

Lysek’s presentation -- thankfully -- wasn’t chock-full of gruesome photos or stories. It was more informative than anything, and I learned a lot about the behind-the-scenes life of a coroner.

First, I’ll start off with a statistic: The Northampton County coroner’s office investigated 1,700 deaths in 2010. I’m not the best at math -- I was too worried about what was happening in the Gross Anatomy lab next door -- but that works out to approaching five death investigations per day.

Of course, more than 1,700 people died in Northampton County last year, but not all deaths are investigated.

When a death is investigated, the coroner determines whether it is:

• Natural (the most common)
• Undetermined
• Accidental
• Suicide
• Homicide

According to Lysek, a death is classified as a homicide when “someone dies at the hand of another.”

Even if the homicide is deemed justifiable, it will still be labeled a homicide, Lysek explained, adding that he defers all homicide cases to the district attorney -- John Morganelli, for Northampton County -- who ultimately determines if the homicide was justifiable or not.

There are 67 counties in Pennsylvania -- 63 of those counties have an elected coroner or medical examiner, four have an appointed coroner or medical examiner.

Northampton County and the city of Philadelphia have an appointed coroner. Allegheny and Delaware counties have an appointed medical examiner.

The difference between a coroner and a medical examiner? A medical examiner is a medical doctor or physician, while a coroner is not.

A coroner:

• Investigates human deaths
• Determines the cause of death
• Secures assets
• Handles paperwork like death certificates and records
• Notifies the next of kin
• Ensures the proper person takes over an estate
• And other miscellaneous duties

According to Lysek, he and his staff must maintain / obtain certifications and continuing education credits every year. If these credits and certifications are not kept up to date, the office is closed or a new coroner is appointed.

Northampton County Executive John Stoffa was the latest person to appoint Lysek, who gets reappointed every four years.

But Lysek says he stays away from the political side of his job.

“Facts and the truth are the only things that are important,” he said.

So whom should you call if -- God forbid -- you come across someone who died?

Lysek says to call 911 because the dispatchers are “the controllers of communication” and know whom to contact.

In most cases -- if 911 is called -- a police officer will be dispatched to the location, and an ambulance, just in case.

If it’s obvious the person is indeed deceased, the coroner will then be called.

According to Lysek, a coroner is the only person who can legally search a body and a house. A police officer can do a sweep of the house to make sure it's "clear," but the rest is up to the coroner.

A search of a house is conducted in hopes of finding identification, wills, medication -- basically anything that will help a coroner identify the person, find the contact information for the next of kin, and determine why the person died.

Lysek added that a witness -- like a police officer -- is always on hand to make sure a scene is properly handled and documented.

The coroner’s office never confiscates illicit drugs that may be found -- that’s where the police department steps in, according to Lysek.

All pharmaceutical medication found, Lysek continued, is incinerated -- not flushed. Lysek stressed the importance of not flushing medication. Check out www.fda.gov for more information on how to properly dispose of medication.

Something else I found interesting about a coroner’s job -- a coroner has to make sure pets and, say, cattle are cared for until the proper people are found to step in and take over.

In trying to add some humor to an otherwise depressing topic, Lysek joked that, “I don’t have time to be watering cattle,” but it’s his duty to make sure the animals are taken care of and handed over to the proper folks.

In one example, Lysek remembered taking care of extremely exotic plants that were discovered in a greenhouse, which belonged to a man who had died.

Lysek realized the plants were more than just your ordinary houseplants -- and were worth more than a few dollars -- so he made sure they were watered.

One final fact I never knew:

Before a body is cremated in the state of Pennsylvania, the death must be investigated by a coroner. A cremation cannot happen without a coroner's approval.

Like I stated above, Lysek’s presentation was quite the eye-opening experience. When a loved one dies, there’s a lot that happens that you don't even realize.

For more detailed information on the Office of the Coroner in Northampton County, visit www.northamptoncounty.org.

On next week’s agenda? A tour of the .

Let’s keep on truckin’!