COUNTY SILENCES COHLE CRITICS

During the past week L.A.W. has revisited the Cohle scandal.  Dr. Stephen Cohle is Kent County's chief medical examiner.  Unlike the county prosecutor or the sheriff, Cohle doesn't work just for us, the public.  He owns and operates a company, Laboratory Pathologists P.C., that provides medical examiner services to other counties and local hospitals.  While making money from other counties probably isn't a matter of great concern, making money from Kent County hospitals such as Spectrum Health is.

The reason is simple.  It creates a conflict of interest for Cohle between his duty to discern the truth for the public and his reliance upon a potential target of investigation for income.  This conflict reared its ugly head in the Jennings and Sallie cases.  Members of these families died while in the care of Spectrum Health.  These families had valid reasons to be concerned that death had not occurred naturally.  Laboratory Pathologists, on behalf of Spectrum Health, carried our medical examinations that concluded no wrongdoing.  However, these examinations were seriously flawed and incomplete.  Consequently, it was left to the Kent County medical examiner -- i.e., Cohle -- to get to the bottom of these deaths.

So Cohle was in the position of having officially determine whether or not his business, Laboratory Pathologists, had or had not failed to discover -- or worse, covered up -- wrongdoing by its customer Spectrum Health in the Jennings and Sallie deaths.  In light of this conflict of interest, Cohle's publicly declared penchant for high living (hence need for cash), and the good doctor's failure to be recertified by his professional association, perhaps none of us should be surprised that Cohle's slapdash review of his own company's work determined that everything was hunky-dory.  But it should surprise us that his employers, the Kent County Board of Commissioners not only refuses to exercise oversight of the medical examiner's office but has now silenced Cohle's critics.

In November and December of last year, Phyllis Jennings (whose father died at Spectrum) and Kristi Sallie (whose mother died there) brought Cohle's unprofessional conduct in the investigation of these deaths to the attention of the Kent County Board of Commissioners during a public hearing.  While some commissioners made noises about this being a serious matter, nothing in fact occurred.  Moreover, the minutes of the hearings failed to record what transpired.  (The county must've learned that trick from the city.)  In the end, the county commissioners praised Cohle and denounced his critics as troublemakers.  Finally at a public hearing in June of this year at which Ms. Sallie raised the problem with Cohle once again, the commissioners issued an edict muzzling her dissent.

So that's how your county commissioners resolved the problem of Cohle's conflict of interest between his public duties as medical examiner and his private receipt of income from parties he is charged with investigating.  They will not discuss it, and they have silenced anyone who insists that they should.  Worse yet, the public record of this scandal has vanished.  Ms. Jennings and Ms. Sallie are now non-persons according to the Kent County Board of Commissioners, because they had the gall to demand that they do the oversight of the medical examiner's office that the voter have entrusted them to do.

Meanwhile, folks, the good doctor Cohle continues to receive paychecks from you the taxpayers and from Spectrum Health.  Seeing that the county commissioners have rolled over, his paycheck from you is securely in his pocket.  All Cohle has to worry about now is making sure that Spectrum Health, the behemoth on the hill that has the clout to silence a TV station in Detroit, stays happy.  So who do you think he is really working for?

Comments

[Paul Villers]

Thanks for this story. How come this hasnt been in the paper? Isn't it obvious that an important public official shouldn't receive income from the people he has to investigate? Isn't that called a bribe?

[The Executive Director]

You're welcome, Paul.

The problem with the local media is their timidity in the face of officialdom. Part of it is a desire to go along to get along, so reporters don't tend to challenge officials on their findings. Another part of it is the lack of a strong tradition of investigative journalism in Michigan's media culture. Then there is the laziness to go out dig up the facts.

There are of course good reporters in the area, but they get hemmed in by these general tendencies of their colleagues and editors. So that's an important reason why the Cohle scandal is not news in River City.

Of course, another part is the refusal of elected officials to take any action, which would get the media's attention.

Regards,
Bill Tingley
Executive Director

[Tommy Times]

Some additional information that you might find interesting about Cohle's moonlighting. As advertised on Amazon.

Cause of Death: Forensic Files of a Medical Examiner (Hardcover)
by Stephen D. Cohle, Tobin T. Buhk

Editorial Reviews
Book Description
The body of a woman floats to the surface of a lake with sixty pounds of cinder block and chain attached to her legs. Her killer faces the death penalty if the prosecution can answer one question: Did she drown? A worker for the only U.S. plant licensed to produce anthrax dies, the victim of a heart attack. But what caused his heart to stop beating?
Follow veteran medical examiner Dr. Stephen D. Cohle into the world of forensic pathology, as he solves these and many other cases. Written from an insider’s view, Cause of Death puts the reader behind Dr. Cohle’s shoulder while he examines each victim. The cases range from exotic murder mysteries ripe for a CSI episode to everyday casualties of heart attacks and car accidents. Every victim, though, has a story to tell.
Enter a real-life morgue with its strange sights, sounds, and smells, and watch a forensic mastermind as he unravels each victim’s cause of death. 

About the Author
Stephen D. Cohle, MD (Grand Rapids, MI), a nationally recognized figure in the community of forensic medicine, is the chief medical examiner for Kent County, Michigan, and a forensic pathologist for Laboratory Pathologists, PC. He is the author (with R. Byard) of Sudden Death in Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence.
Tobin T. Buhk (Grand Rapids, MI) is a high school teacher and freelance writer. In preparation for writing this book, he observed and assisted Dr. Cohle and his forensic team in more than thirty autopsies.

Product Details
Hardcover: 300 pages
Publisher: Prometheus Books (February 2007)
Language: English
ISBN: 1591024471

[Families United for Justice]

Tobin Buhk is an English teacher at Forest Hills Eastern High School. He definitely should have interviewed the families who've never been able to get their deceased loved ones' complete, certified autopsy reports (including their cause of death) from Dr. Stephen Cohle.

[e.b]

This is rediculous. This man is doing things for the community that most of you wouldn't understand or comprehend as a help to the community and many grieving families. he's aa great M.E. so if you think you could do a better job than go back to school and get the M.D. and then see if you change your mind.

[The Executive Director]

E.B.,

What has eluded you is that the issue isn't Cohle's competence but his conflict of interest.

That said, what is ridiculous is your contention that a professional can never be subject to scrutiny and criticism by a layman.

Bill Tingley
Executive Director, L.A.W.

[A.G.]

I see a belated posting from “E.B.” to the “Families United for Justice” posting dated Oct. 01, 2006. There are two sides to every story! I am a friend of the Jennings’ family, Mrs. Jennings and Phyllis Jennings. At the time of Mr. Jennings’ death on March 3, 2005, the Jennings had some questions as to how he died and what caused his death. Phyllis could not get any straight answers. Knowing the reputation of Dr. Cohle as an expert forensic pathologist, the Jennings’ family requested a complete autopsy to be done by Dr. Cohle. At the time the Jennings knew Dr. Cohle as the Kent County Chief Medical Examiner, but did not know his services where contracted to the county through Spectrum Health. It was not until three months later did the Jennings learn that Dr. Cohle did not do an autopsy. The family was shocked to learn not only that Dr. Cohle did not do the autopsy, but the second forensic pathologist, Dr. David Start, didn’t do the autopsy, either. The name on the autopsy report was a Dr. James McConnell, a clinical pathologist/cytopathologist that no one ever heard of before. If the Jennings' family had known that Dr. Cohle would for some reason delegate this very important request to someone else, they would have made other arrangements. The Jennings’ family were never given that opportunity. Months later, Phyllis went to Dr. Cohle’s office in an attempt to talk to Dr. Cohle and to try to get some answers as to what happened. Dr. Cohle refused to see her. To date, the Jennings have never been allowed to talk to any of the doctors listed on any of the paperwork from Kent Community-Spectrum Health - including Dr. Cohle! The only ones talking these days are the Spectrum Health attorneys. Friends of the family all told Phyllis that Dr. Cohle was the man to go to get answers. Three years later, he still has not lived up to his reputation! This is one family he has not helped. The cloud that hangs over Mr. Jennings’ death, and the system that keeps this family from getting the answers, gives all dedicated doctors, nurses, and other forensic pathologists a bad name. It is easer to let the lawyers do the talking but who is best served, the patient or the bottom line of the hospital/nursing home. If you go to the Spectrum Health web page, “Forensic Pathology”, you would think that all your questions can be answered. The Jennings’ family has a word of warning - families beware.

Friend of the Jennings’ family

[The Executive Director]

Thanks for the summary of what happened, A.G.

Regards,
Bill Tingley
Executive Director, L.A.W.

[c.o.d.]

In regards to the posting by A.G. - Did the circumstances of Mr. Jennings death fall under the jurisdiction of the Medical Examiner? If not, then there would be no reason why a Forensic Pathologist would be involved.

[The Executive Director]

C.O.D.,

Raising technicalities in jurisdiction misses the point. The fact of the matter is that the medical examiner's office accepted responsibility for reviewing the autopsies conducted by Spectrum Health (through its contractor Laboratory Pathologists, owned and operated by Medical Examiner Cohle).

At that point, the Jennings and Sallie families were relying upon what they perceived (and were entitled to perceive) as a disinterested public authority to get to the truth. Therefore, Cohle was ethically bound to declare his conflict of interest, if no other reason than to make clear to those families that their perception was incorrect.

If Cohle had been honorable enough to do that, then the Jennings and Sallie families would have at least been able to judge whether or not a medical examiner's office run by the man who owns the company that did the autopsies in dispute would get to the truth of the matter.

But Cohle did not do that. No fair-minded person can offer any good reason why he should not have, at a minimum, advised the Jennings and Sallie families of his conflict of interest.

Regards,
Bill Tingley
Executive Director, L.A.W.

[C.o.d]

Wow - Bill, you really do not understand the "L.A.W." do you? You're arguement regarding this topic would hold more weight if you knew all the facts.

[A.G.]

I agree with Bill. Dr. Stephen Cohle was and is ethically bound to inform all families about his conflict of interest up front. I'm sure that if members of the Jennings' family had known about Cohle's conflict of interest, they would have made other arrangements for an independent, complete autopsy to be performed somewhere else.

A.G.

[The Executive Director]

Agreed, A.G.

Richard/C.O.D., Exactly which facts are we missing that show Cohle didn't have a conflict of interest? If you haven't anything of substance to contribute to this subject, then shill for Cohle elsewhere.

Regards,
Bill Tingley

[Kristi Sallie]

Thank you for your positive comments Mr. Tingley. I have been out of your blog loop for quite some time however after reading some of these posts it's imperative that I clear some things up. Phyllis Jennings found our family from the Kent County Board of Commissioners meeting minutes. She came to us for help and support because Dr. Cohle was not properly discharging his duties as Chief Medical Examiner. Although Dr. Cohle has an established conflict of interest this is just one of the many problems that plague our community concerning the the conduct of the Medical Examiner. As far as we know Phyllis was not charged for her father's autopsy however the County refused to conduct on autopsy on our mother and advised us that if we wanted one we would have to pay $10,000 dollars for it. They refused us even though our mother did not die at home or in a hospital and her death was medically unattended. There was a death scene investigation and an official medical examiner's report. When we received the report it had been falsified. Similarly Mr. Jennings' autopsy report described some physical details of a "male" that prove beyond a doubt that the body described in the report is not Mr. Jennings. Dr. Cohle encouraged the Jennings family to seek a second opinion and then tried to stop them from when they had Mr. Jennings exhumed. Their second opinion could not be completed because Mr. Jennings' brain was missing. Someone did something to Mr. Jennings however the body describe in his autopsy report does not belong to him therefore where did this report come from? The Medical Examiner's office cut communication with the Jennings family and attorneys for the Medical Examiner's office had the Jennings' family's subpoenas quashed when they tried to get at the truth of Mr. Jennings' death. Dr. Cohle gave false information to the Kent County Sheriff's department which stifled the investigation into our mother's death. I have a copy of the report that he gave the Sheriff's Department and the information he gave them does not match the information in our mother's medical records. In fact to the best of our knowledge although Dr. Cohle claims to have reviewed our mother's medical records the information in his report is not substantiated by the medical records. Dr. Cohle told the Kent County Sheriff's Department that we took our mother out of the hospital against medical advice. The medical examiner's report refers to a specific medical record that is supposed to state the details the removal however the medical record number that the report refers to is our mother's patient ID number and is in fact on all of her medical records. If you read the medical examiner's report without the medical records you would be led to believe the report . If Dr. Cohle reviewed the medical records he should have seen the discharge papers that were signed by the doctors along with the medication that the doctors prescribed for her at the time of her discharge. We brought several of the false statements made in the report to the attention of Dr. Cohle in our face to face meeting with him however he says he stands by the report. He could not answer us when we asked him where he got his information from. Our case and the Jennings case clearly show that Dr. Cohle failed to discharge his duties properly and as such provisions are made for this type of behavior in MCL 52.201f however in order for this law to be of any effect it requires action by the Kent County Board of Commissioners. Phyllis, my family and I have brought this and various other issues concerning Dr. Cohle before the County. The County treated us very rudely and this was very discouraging to Phyllis. The County banned my family from discussing the death of our mother effective as of June 8, 2006. They made a statement filled with false information however they did not hold a hearing or even present their statement in affidavit form therefore we requested that they either swear to their statement or retract it. In two years they have done neither therefore we approached them on July 24, 2008 advising them that we're giving them one more opportunity to either swear to their statement or retract it. We advised the Commissioners that if there were any dissenting opinions they should let us know by the end of the day July 24, 2008. We also informed them that we are in the process of working with the government to seek accountability for their actions. We have not heard from any of the Commissioners that were involved in the meeting June 8, 2006. This blog is a good forum however we need to go to the county in large numbers and make them accountable for their actions. Their decision effects our health, well being, money, and our lives in the community and we have a right to fair and honest representation.

[A.G.]

Bill,
Have you or anyone who reads this blog heard about the county's plans for a new Medical Examiner facility? The Kent County Board of Commissioners apparently got an update on this at their May 8th meeting - at least that's what the county's meeting minutes say.

[JS]

I have heard the Jennings' family has not given up trying to solve some of these cases. What's most unfortunate is that nobody is helping them. Not good.

[The Editor - Local Area Watch]

Hello A.G. & JS,

I have not heard about the new ME facility. Bill can advise if he has heard anything to the contrary.

It is difficult for the Jennings family and others to get a fair day in court and the health system after what they have been through. There are few true advocates in the system for those with real grievances and issues. They must continue the battle as much as they can until the truth comes. It just may take a very long time and the bad seeds finally leave, retire and/or get weeded out.

We posted articles based upon the facts as we were given them and that which we researched privately in order to give those without a voice a place to speak out. We at L.A.W. are glad we could address some of the important aspects of this case which warranted public disclosure.

Thanks for your feedback.

Regards,

Bridget Dupont-Tingley