Meet your neighbor: Dennis Russell

Published 8:00 am Monday, October 7, 2013

 

Fourteen years after he took office as St. Clair County’s coroner, Dennis Russell still remembers some good advice his predecessor gave him.

“Charles Foreman, who was coroner here for many years, told me that if it ever gets to the point that it doesn’t bother you to be at a death scene, you don’t need to do it any more.  If it doesn’t bother you, it means you’ve lost your compassion for people.”

Ask Russell if it still bothers him, and he’s quick to answer.

“You don’t get used to it.  You get used to dealing with it, but you don’t get used to seeing it.  I don’t, anyway.  It’s hard, especially with children, but the coroner has to deal with it, and remember that you’re there to care for the person who has died in a professional and dignified manner.”

A fifth-generation St. Clair County resident, Russell also serves as manager of Kilgroe Funeral Home, Leeds.  Before a funeral on a recent Tuesday morning, he explained what a coroner does, the difference between manner and cause of death, and how a jovial disposition can be helpful when one’s work often involves tragedy.

What does a coroner do?  “The coroner is an elected official whose job is to determine the cause and manner of death.  Those may sound like the same thing, but they’re not.  Did the person die of a heart attack?  Or was it head trauma or some other kind of injury?  That’s the cause of death.  Was it homicide, suicide, or accident?  That’s the manner of death.”

What is the public’s biggest misconception about a coroner’s job?  “That all he does is drive up, say ‘This person’s dead,’ fill out a death certificate, and that’s it.  There are reports that have to be filled out at the scene, different reports for different kinds of deaths, attorneys that sometimes have to be dealt with, and sometimes we have to testify in court.  In cases where a body is found in the water, like in a river, the coroner has to go down and help get it out.”

 It’s a 24/7 job:  “The coroner can be eating dinner with his family on Christmas day, and if there’s a call, he’s got to go.  We go out on every death that occurs in the county with the exception of hospice cases, because those deaths are expected and the person was under the care of a doctor.  Also, if a death occurs in a medical facility, like an emergency room or ICU, prior to the person being there 24 hours, we get notified in those cases.”

Another responsibility:  “The coroner is also on the county’s child death review team, along with representatives of several other agencies.  Any time any person dies who is under the age of 18, the death has to be reviewed to see if it could have been prevented and, if so, how.  We meet twice a year, and, while we obviously can’t bring a child back, hopefully some of the things we recommend to Montgomery will help keep children more safe in the future.”

The coroner’s relationship with law enforcement:  “We work closely with them, and if the sheriff is not able to fulfill his duties, the coroner becomes acting sheriff.  Technically, we have arrest power, and the coroner is actually the only person who can arrest the sheriff.  But we have a really good sheriff here, really good city police departments, and good cooperation between law enforcement, the district attorney, and fire and rescue.  We’re blessed to be in a county that is supportive of what the coroner’s office does.”

The coroner’s staff:  Jeremiah Gilreath serves as full-time deputy coroner, and Mike Pepple serves as part-time deputy coroner.

The most frustrating aspect of the coroner’s job:  “Dealing with the lack of state funding for forensic sciences.  If we have to have an autopsy, it can take six to eight months to get a report back.  It can be almost as long if we have to send samples to the forensic lab for testing. On ‘CSI’ the death happens, they do all the tests, and they solve it in an hour.  Sometimes it takes me 45 minutes just to get to the scene.”

A coroner doesn’t perform autopsies?  “All counties in Alabama have elected coroners except Jefferson, Madison, Montgomery, and Mobile.  They have medical examiners that are pathologists and qualified to perform autopsies.  So if we can’t determine cause of death, we have to send the body away for an autopsy.  For us, that’s to Huntsville.  And an autopsy can’t be performed without the approval of the district attorney.  Since I’ve been elected, I’ve never requested an autopsy that wasn’t approved.”

What kind of training do coroners receive?  “Some type of training is required by law every year, and it’s a big thing for us.  It can include vehicular accidents, death by suicide, death by fire, death of the elderly, children’s deaths, death by drug overdose, death by natural causes, and homicide. It’s amazing what people come up with to do away with themselves.”

A common cause of death that could easily be prevented:  “We see a lot of accidental deaths that are the result of prescription drug overdoses, particularly methadone and oxycontin, which are pain killers.  The directions may be to take one in case of back pain, and the person may think, ‘well, if one is good, four or five should really take care of it.’  Or they may drink alcohol with their prescriptions.  You can’t mix a lot of medications with alcohol, but people still do that.  The majority of vehicle accidents are the results of the driver being under the influence of alcohol or impaired by some substance, illegal or prescription.”

Why does he serve as coroner?  “I’ve been asked that 100 times, probably.  It’s not a money thing.  I knew what the job paid when I took it, and it hasn’t changed much in 15 years.  I do it because I enjoy helping families and because I care about people.  I’ve been in the funeral business since 1978, and I like to be there to care for people during that hard time.”

How humor can be helpful in his line of work:  “You have to have some kind of outlet.  Mine has always been humor. I’m totally 100 percent non-alcoholic guy and always have been, but I was voted ‘Wittiest’ my senior year in high school, and it still helps me a lot. I enjoy life, and I believe God put everybody here for a reason.  I think he put me here to bring a little laughter into people’s lives, particularly at a hard time.”