Letter: Time for changes at coroner’s office

We’ve had an adequate deputy coroner working part-time out of the office for 5 years. In the meantime, Benton County has had murders, drug overdoses, and in-custody law enforcement death cases that just sit on the shelf, according to your Sunday front-page article.

Unexpected deaths of any sort are upsetting, and everyone wants answers immediately. There are several flaws in our current coroner office, lack of communication being the primary issue. The website is inadequate, lacking critical information for grieving families; there is no FAQs section, or a place to instant message. Phone calls go unanswered, messages get no response, and things like unused Fentanyl (opioid epidemic) are left with grieving families to deal with.

It’s unacceptable that our current coroner’s office has not addressed these issues. What has our current deputy coroner done to advocate and fix these known problems in the last five years? The current deputy coroner stated: “They (the state) just need to learn how to fix the problem.”

Vote for Jamie (Raebel); he will fix the problems, has 36 years death experience at Pasco Police Department, and is endorsed by all local law-enforcement. Let’s evolve.