San Joaquin County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Bennet Omalu submitted a letter of resignation Tuesday, the second forensic pathologist to resign in the past eight days over the sheriff’s alleged interference with their duties.
Dr. Omalu’s letter of resignation begins, “With tears in my eyes and with a very heavy heart, I hereby submit my letter of resignation.”
He goes on to write about the complaints of his colleague Dr. Sue Parson who resigned late last month.
Both write that San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore overstepped his bounds as the county coroner in attempting “to control and influence” their professional judgment and conclusions.
That included, in some cases, he says of changing the manner of death from homicide to an accident especially cases involving law enforcement officers.
Sheriff Moore was out of the office and unavailable for comment but had previously denied those accusations.
Omalu, who was known for his work on concussions suffered by professional football players, says in those difficult days San Joaquin County offered a home and gave him hope, and for this, he was grateful.
He is required to give a three-month notice of resignation but will stop performing autopsies effective Dec. 5 so he can close 150 pending and open cases.
Follow us for more stories like this
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.
Donate Today