Read Online Coroner's Journal by Louis Cataldie - Free Book Online

pistol in my right pocket, but I’d have to straighten out my leg to get it. That might be a giveaway as to my intentions.
    In Louisiana, a coroner is also a conservator of the peace, which means I am technically a “police officer.” At least that’s what some coroners say. The corollary is that I would rather be judged by twelve than carried by six. As such, most of us are armed, and we need to be. I train with firearms, and I try to stay prepared. The law also specifically allows the coroner to carry a weapon. But it’s the unexpected that gets you. It is impossible to guard against everything. I just try to use common sense and keep a cool head.
    No one seemed to be paying attention to what was going on over here. I did not want to alarm this guy or escalate this into a full-blown confrontation. I needed to get him and the scene secured. I’ve had years of experience with talking down violent psychiatric patients—not that this guy was a psych patient. He was an unknown to me. I know that for every action there is a reaction. By staying calm, I wanted to establish a nonthreatening atmosphere. I stood up, slowly. At least now, I was standing and had a better chance if things went bad all of a sudden.
    I introduced myself, and asked, “Would you mind coming with me to talk to the officer in charge?”
    Much to my relief, he agreed, though he had no intention of telling the police anything. “They gonna have to find out for themselves.” Translation: Calvin’s relatives would take care of this if they found the killer first. And they had the advantage of knowing who it was.
    We eased over to Officer Ben Odom, my old buddy, and I introduced the guy and explained the situation. Ben was calm and polite, yet firm. He asked the guy if he had any weapons on him and gave him “the look.” The guy said he was unarmed and that Ben could check him if he wanted to do so. He escorted the guy out of the crime scene and had one of the rooks check him for weapons. He then stationed him with one of the other uniform officers for “safekeeping.”
    Once everything was relatively secure, Ben sort of went ballistic. He had what is euphemistically referred to as an “attitude adjustment” with the cops who were supposed to be guarding the crime scene. He was angry that the guy had gotten past security. Calvin’s brother just walked right through. Ben Odom was embarrassed by the breach of the crime scene and furious that I had been placed in danger. He’s a testy person anyway, and the heat wasn’t helping his mood. His explanation and apology to me was terse and to the point: “Sorry ’bout that, Doc!”
    Though it came later on in my career, it was the first—and only—tutorial I needed in the importance of securing a crime scene. The rest of the process was fairly routine after that. Detectives finally arrived, then the crime-scene unit, and we worked the area and put Calvin in a sealed and tagged body bag. At about four A.M., he was off to the morgue for autopsy at daybreak and I was heading home to take my boy to school. I try to do that at least one morning out of the week.
    It would be impossible for him to understand the world I just stepped out of. We’ll chat about school and stop to get doughnuts at our favorite Korean doughnut shop. And I’ll just be a dad to my son and try to leave the street behind while I’m with him.

TV VS. REALITY
    Frequently debates erupt among detectives and forensic investigators about how much criminals learn from TV shows such as CSI, Law and Order, or Crossing Jordan. I’ve heard detectives curse those shows for “making our jobs harder” by teaching the criminal how to get away with a crime. I don’t think little snippets on CSI really make much of an impact on criminals’ behavior. For one thing, criminals don’t understand the foundation of the science of forensics and