Coroner Bureau
Overview
It is the mission of the Coroner Bureau to provide competent and timely law enforcement and forensic investigations of all deaths occurring within the County of Sonoma that meet criteria as defined in 27491 of the California Government Code and to provide timely and accurate answers to survivors concerning the deaths of their loved ones.
The Coroner Bureau is a component of the Sheriff's Investigations but is autonomous and serves all the people of the county. The Coroner facility is located at 3336 Chanate Road in Santa Rosa, California, and consists of one Lieutenant, one Detective Sergeant, four Deputy Detectives, two full-time, and one extra help Forensic Assistant. Additionally, we have one member of the Sheriff's Volunteers in Policing unit and one intern.
The Detective Sergeant oversees day-to-day supervision of the unit and responds in a supervisory capacity to homicide and other high-profile death scenes or any scene that is considered unusual or suspicious. Other duties of the sergeant include liaison with Forensic Pathologists. The Lieutenant attends and participates in the Sonoma County Child Death Review Team, the Sonoma County Domestic Violence Death Review Team, and the California State Coroner's Association. The sergeant reviews and approves death investigations generated by the staff within the unit and manages the status of open investigations.
The Detectives assigned to the unit receive and investigate new reports of deaths. They screen the latest reports to determine if the death falls within the criteria of 27491 of the California Government Code for deaths reportable to the coroner. Detectives respond to the scenes of death in which the manner of death is being investigated as either homicide, suicide, accident, and in a significant number of natural causes deaths. It is the duty of the coroner pursuant to 27491 of the California Government Code to investigate these types of deaths. Detectives often respond to suspicious deaths, wherein the manner is unclear.
The Forensic Assistants assigned to the unit assist Detectives in performing routine follow up, locating and retrieving medical records, medical samples, and x-ray images as needed. Additionally, the person assigned to this position receives new reports of death from hospitals and mortuaries in Sonoma County and screens these deaths for acceptance for further investigation by the Coroner Bureau. Under the supervision of the Chief Deputy Coroner, Forensic Assistants assist the Forensic Pathologist with the performance of autopsies; maintain the autopsy room and facility in a clean and orderly condition; perform clerical and administrative support functions as required in the Coroner’s Office, including keeping records of human remains in the temporary custody of the County Morgue; assist members of the public and other agencies, and perform related duties as required.
FORENSIC PATHOLOGY:
Pathology services are furnished by independent contractors who are all licensed, Forensic Pathologists. Sonoma County averages approximately 400 autopsies annually.
Forensic Odontology:
Forensic Odontology is best described as a post-mortem dental examination and comparison. The Coroner Bureau’s Forensic Odontology services are provided on an as-needed basis by Dr. Roland Chew, DDS. His services typically involved identifying decomposed, burned, and/or skeletonized human dental remains. Dr. Chew has been involved in many cases throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding counties. Some notable cases have been the wine country and Napa fires, as well as the lead odonatologist for the Ghost Ship fire in Oakland, CA. He currently has a private practice in General Dentistry.
Other Vendor Services:
The County of Sonoma contracts with several vendors to provide needed services to serve the Coroner Bureau. Some of these vendors offer services for toxicology, micro-biology, bio-hazard waste disposal, pharmaceutical waste disposal, and body removals.
Other Services provided by the Coroner Bureau:
The Coroner Bureau of the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office offers various services to allied agencies. Staff at the Coroner Bureau performs death notifications throughout the county when requested by outside agencies.
