Private Autopsy Service Says ME's Office Merger Would Be Mistake

By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The number of private autopsies are expected to increase if the state merges the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner with a law enforcement agency, according to G. Terry Felts, the owner of Oklahoma City-based Private Autopsy Service.

"It does concern me," Felts said. "I'm truly concerned and I don't want to see the system ruined."

Felts is a former police officer who has done extensive work with the Medical Examiner's Office. In 1999 he opened his own lab, Private Autopsy Service in Oklahoma City. It's here he tries to help families seeking answers to a loved one's death, and he said he's expecting a boom in business if the M.E.'s office merges with a law enforcement agency.

There's been ongoing speculation that the ME's office could be merged with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations to help with funding and credibility. Felts said he believes doing so will create a conflict of interest.

"It'll be one of the biggest mistakes this state makes," Felts said. "Those two need to be separate and independent from one another."

The M.E.'s office recently lost its accreditation and has made headlines with scandals including sexual harassment claims and the firing of its most recent Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Collie Trant, but Felts said he feels it's more than a scandal. He said it's a political agenda.

"There seems to be an effort to move the Medical Examiner's function under law enforcement, and it's not a law enforcement function. It's a medical function," Felts said.

Felts said if the M.E.'s Office is under law enforcement supervision, families and attorneys will question the accuracy of the results, which will likely lead to more private autopsies and eventually higher costs for litigation.

To help fuel speculation of a takeover by the OSBI, the M.E.'s office is now headed up by Tom Jordan, a former deputy director of the OSBI. There's also talk of eventually moving the M.E.'s office to Edmond near the OSBI Forensic Science Center.

Former Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Collie Trant accepted a position with Private Autopsy Service, even as he fights to get his job back at the Medical Examiner's office.

More:
- Family Worries ME's Situation Will Delay Answers into Daughter's Death
- Oklahoma Chief Medical Examiner Placed on Leave
- Former Medical Examiner Investigator to Stand Trial on Sexual Battery Charge
- M.E.'s Office Sends Out Cautionary Memo About Former Employees
- Possible Incriminating E-mails Discovered at M.E.'s Office
- Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Collie Trant Terminated