A Message from the Coroner
The Mission of the Boulder County Coroner’s Office is to honor and serve those who have gone before us, their families, and the broader community by providing compassionate and independent death investigations based on cutting-edge forensic science.
With a distinguished 32-year investigative career, I have dedicated myself to public service, initially as a peace officer and over the last 19 years as an executive leader in the medicolegal profession. I am enthusiastic to share with you the unique education, training, and experience I possess to serve in this crucial role.
My journey began as a sheriff’s deputy with diverse assignments in gang intervention, intelligence, special operations, violent crimes, and internal affairs. While serving as a sheriff’s deputy, I pursued a degree in Pre-Medicine during the evenings, accumulating the hours necessary to apply for Osteopathic Medical School. My career trajectory shifted when I gained employment with the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office in 2001. This opportunity allowed me to experience the unique intersection between medicine and the law.
At the medical examiner’s office, I underwent extensive education and training under the supervision of a board-certified forensic pathologist through study of pathophysiology of disease and injury, autopsy performance, interpreting forensic toxicology values, cardiac rhythms, critical lab values, radiology, histology, and review of medical records. This experience solidified my passion for investigating death from a medicolegal perspective.
Beginning in 2005, I was promoted to executive leadership at a multi-county jurisdiction medical examiner’s office which at one point spanned services for 10 counties. I was solely responsible for the administration of all functions of the office to include creation, presentation, and implementation of budgets, with direct oversight of finance, personnel, investigations, and pathology services. My notable medical examiner experience includes attending the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and numerous state medical examiner education conferences. I co-authored the State adopted practice guidelines for Florida Medical Examiners and commanded operations during several mass disaster and mass fatality events to include four hurricanes, one active shooter incident and multiple aircraft and transportation mishaps.
In 2021, with much anticipation, I accepted employment as the Chief Deputy Coroner for Boulder County and immediately began addressing the nuances between medical examiner and coroner systems by successfully integrating medical examiner practices into the office, which included how operations were performed during the Marshall wildfire.
In late 2023, I assumed all administrative authority within the office and was excited about the opportunity to bring much needed changes to the office. I wholeheartedly believe in standardizing medicolegal practices in Colorado, as evidenced by my personal establishment of a successful state-wide peer group for Coroners and Chief Deputies, authoring a template mass fatality plan for smaller coroner offices around the state, producing an educational video for physicians regarding death certification and actively working on Colorado’s first draft for creating practice guidelines for Coroners.
In January of 2024, I assumed the role of the coroner and have continued to create practices that reflect medical examiner methods within our coroner system. Outside of my technical and medical experience, I believe I possess the necessary credibility, competency, job knowledge, and confidence to lead the Boulder County Coroner’s Office.
I am dedicated to professional, service centric leadership, transparency, and accountability. One of my priorities is to strengthen collaborations with local medical and legal partners, as well as fostering stronger connections with the people we serve through outreach and education. My number one goal is to ensure that my leadership aligns with the needs and expectations of the County, the office’s dedicated employees, and the residents of Boulder County through my personal investment to delivery medicolegal services with compassion and empathy.
Respectfully,
Jeffrey B. Martin, Coroner
Boulder County, Colorado
Visit the Boulder County Coroner’s Office for further information.
