From day one of Mayor Adrian Fenty’s administration, D.C. Chief Medical Examiner Marie Pierre-Louis has known her days on the job were numbered.
Within six months, according to the mayor’s 100 Days and Beyond action plan, Fenty would hire a board-certified pathologist as chief medical examiner, the person responsible for investigating and certifying deaths that occur as a result of violence or other suspicious causes.
But eight months into Fenty’s first term, Pierre-Louis, a board-eligible pathologist, is still on the job. Efforts to recruit her replacement have proven difficult.
“The search for the chief medical examiner is still ongoing as we look for the best candidate to fill the position,” Fenty spokeswoman Dena Iverson said.
Sources in the Fenty administration say several people have been interviewed and a couple have expressed interest. But in a very specialized field, there is a much smaller pool to choose from, and negotiations with top candidates have stalled over money.
The council in July authorized Fenty to offer a new chief medical examiner up to $279,900 a year.
“I think we wanted the flexibility given how difficult it’s been to find someone,” Fenty spokeswoman Carrie Brooks said.
D.C. law requires that the city’s medical examiner be certified in forensic pathology by the American Board of Pathology. Former Mayor Anthony Williams sought a break from the statute in 2004 to quickly fill a vacancy in the office.
“We have to fill that position with a board certified forensic pathologist,” said D.C. Council Member Phil Mendelson, chair of the public safety committee. “But I am not unhappy with [Pierre-Louis], and if we need to extend her appointment I would support that.”
Pierre-Louis, whose term expired April 30, declined comment.
Her office investigates an average of 3,100 cases per year, she told Mendelson’s committee during an oversight hearing earlier this year. In the past two years, she said, the medical examiner’s office has eliminated its autopsy backlog;improved its toxicology lab; and met key benchmarks for examinations, identifications and reporting.
