Shooting Shows Need for Coroner’s Office Update

A dispute over the accuracy of an autopsy performed on a Mexican border bandit shot by a San Diego police officer has once again put the county coroner’s office under a microscope.

On May 4, Julio Arroyo Zaragoza was killed on the San Diego side of the border in a confrontation with the Border Crimes Prevention Unit. Border Patrol Agent Fred Stevens was shot five times by Arroyo but survived because of an armored vest he was wearing. The police report of the incident says that Arroyo was shot from a distance of 30 feet by Police Officer Cesar Solis.

An autopsy performed on Arroyo two days later by Dr. David Katsuyama, a private pathologist who contracts with the coroner’s office, supported the police version of the killing. But, the dead man’s brother, Jaime Arroyo Zaragoza, who is facing charges of robbery and attempted murder, maintains that Julio Arroyo was shot at close range after being disarmed and brought under control of the officers. A second autopsy was performed in Mexico by Tijuana coroner Gustavo Salazar, and he reported finding gunpowder under the skin, an indication the wound had been inflicted with the gun touching or close to the skin.

Pathologists not involved with the case have been critical of Katsuyama’s autopsy on Arroya after being told some of the tests he failed to perform.

Despite Julio Arroyo’s crimes, how he died is of extreme importance. Dist. Atty. Edwin Miller should reopen the investigation of Arroyo’s death and have an independent pathologist examine the available tissues and photographs.

Beyond that, this case points up problems that have plagued the coroner’s office for years. Katsuyama has been frequently criticized by attorneys for the quality of his autopsies and his testimony in criminal cases. At various times, the coroner’s office has come under attack by the district attorney’s office and the criminal defense bar.

One way to provide better autopsies would be to replace the coroner with a medical examiner who is a pathologist. Simply replacing Coroner David J. Stark, a former embalmer, with a pathologist would not automatically solve problems such as the need for better equipment and more staff. But in addition to providing medical supervision, a pathologist would probably be more successful in determining the priorities and communicating the needs of the office to the Board of Supervisors.

The county is so besieged by the needs of the living, it may be hard to come to grips with the inadequacies of the coroner’s office. But autopsy results can affect lives, too, especially when they become crucial evidence as to whether a crime was committed. The San Diego County system is outdated and should be replaced by one headed by a medical examiner.