Panel wants Montrose coroner to resign

October 25, 2004

By Ron Bain

The Daily Sentinel

MONTROSE -- The committee of law enforcement and medical professionals seeking the recall of Montrose County Coroner Mark Young on Sunday called for the coroner's resignation, citing Young's "irresponsible actions" in a controversial organ donation case.

"We will never know how many more individuals will die while awaiting organ transplantation as result of Mr. Young's reckless, irresponsible actions," stated a news release from the Committee to Replace Montrose County Coroner Mark Young.

The first-term coroner caused a national media furor when he issued a statement to the press in early October labeling the Sept. 26 suicide of William T. Rardin, 31, of Montrose, a homicide. He has since retracted and amended the ruling, saying documentation of brain death was missing.

"While Mr. Young, a part-time paramedic with credentials insufficient for his office, has recently decided to reverse his ruling on the cause of death, his reckless and irresponsible actions have served to undermine confidence in the organ donation system and have caused needless suffering for the Rardin family while demonstrating the inability of Mr. Young to act as a responsible public official," the release stated.

Individuals wishing to express support for Young's resignation or recall are to send an e-mail to recallcoroner@yahoo.com. According to the committee's registered agent, Montrose County Sheriff's Deputy Robert Walraven, the recall effort doesn't yet have a Web site.

Young reversed his ruling after consulting with a University of Colorado Health Sciences Center neurologist, James P. Kelly, who said brain death tests were done on Rardin which were not documented.

"Had Mr. Young, in fact, consulted with a neurosurgeon about the specifics of the case prior to releasing his initial findings, spoken with medical professionals involved in the case and done an adequate job familiarizing himself with brain death criteria, this entire series of adverse events could have been avoided," the recall committee's press release stated.

Young "had the nerve" to apologize to the family "on behalf of the medical system," the release stated.

"He should not have ruled this death a homicide and then apologized for "the medical system" regarding documentation," it stated.

Copyright © 2004 Cox Newspapers Inc -- The Daily Sentinel.

This article posted November 28, 2004.