Rutherford County, TN (January 19, 2022)—The Rutherford County Medical Examiner’s Office (RCMEO) is seeking to hire two Medicolegal Death Investigators (MDIs).

The MDIs will assist with the investigation of deaths reported to the Office of the Medical Examiner— particularly seeking, gathering and documentation of pertinent circumstantial, historical, and other medicolegal data. These two will also aid the Medical Examiner with identification of the decedent, determination of cause and manner of death, preservation of evidence, and anticipated future questions.

The positions posted this week, and interviews are anticipated to take place in mid-February with expectation to hire the first part of March.

Funding for the two positions will come from the 2021 BJA FY21 Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program grant awarded to the department in December 2021.

The division received a total of $471,807 with no obligation to match, to support personnel costs including salary, benefits, equipment, and other necessities.

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“We are excited for the addition of the two MDIs,” stated RCMEO Supervisor/MDI Denise Martin, mentioning that the persons hired will be very busy during the course of their work.

Martin explains that the new team members will be implementing a new comprehensive medicolegal death investigation case management system which is hosted by the State of Tennessee. The team will also form a “Rutherford County EMS/MEO Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Fatality Review Program” comprised of multiple first responder, law enforcement, and public health agencies among other interested organizations. The team’s findings will not only assist local agencies with data collection and sharing, but is also anticipated to benefit other state, regional, and federal partner agencies.

“This funding, we believe, displays the federal government’s recognition of the devastating impact that substance abuse has in our community but also acknowledges that Rutherford County is committed to taking a proactive approach to combat these issues,” noted Martin.

“The expansion of our division and creation of the review program will help us get a better understanding of where we need to focus our efforts,” said Martin, adding that these reviews can help law enforcement partners gain useful information for investigations as they work to decrease the amount of crimes and deaths associated with these substances, as well as assist medical and health-related partners direct recovery and prevention strategies.

The budget amendment for the positions will formally go before the Budget and Finance Committee February 3 and through full commission on February 17.

For more information about the positions, please visit:
https://rutherfordcountytn.mysmarthire.com/jobs/ , and for more information on the Rutherford County Medical Examiner’s Officer, visit rutherfordcountytn.gov/ems/medicalexaminer.