Adams County coroner cuts ties with Broomfield over comments

The Adams County coroner has told Broomfield County that her office will no longer provide services to its neighbor starting Jan. 1, the result of an apparent rift over questions elected officials in Broomfield are raising about the coroner’s handling of the probe into Elijah McClain’s death after his violent arrest by Aurora police last year.

Monica Broncucia- Jordan, who has served as Adams County’s coroner since 2011, wrote in a letter dated Wednesday that she would not renew the county’s contract with Broomfield in 2021 because the city and county’s elected leaders “expressed a clear lack of confidence” in her office

during a Broomfield City Council meeting last week.

Broncucia- Jordan wrote she was never contacted by Broomfield regarding any questions it had about her office’s investigation into McClain’s death following his arrest by Aurora police in August 2019, and she learned of those concerns only from an “article in the media.”

“I find the lack of communication from Broomfield Council and the discussions at the Council meeting completely unprofessional,” she wrote in the letter, which was obtained by The Denver Post. “Without confidence in the services my Office provides to your community, I have elected not to renew the Broomfield Coroner services ( intergovernmental agreement) for the year 2021.”

She doesn’t mention McClain by name in her letter but the discussion by Broomfield council members during a Dec. 10 council meeting regarding a contract renewal centers almost exclusively on the young man’s death.

The Broomfield Enterprise was the first to report the details of the council’s discussion last week.

Adams County has provided coroner services for Broomfield since the latter became a county in 2001. Broomfield Mayor Pat Quinn on Thursday said he’s concerned that his county will be without a coroner in just a matter of weeks and hopes to mend fences with Broncucia- Jordan before year’s end.

“We can’t go without a coroner, so it causes great concern to Broomfield,” he said in an interview Thursday.

The death of the 23- yearold unarmed Black man, who died days after suffering a heart attack after being stopped by Aurora police, being put in a chokehold and administered the sedative ketamine by paramedics, made national headlines and triggered protests demanding racial justice and calling for police reform this past summer.

There are multiple investigations looking into the incident, including by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and federal law enforcement agencies.

A review of the archived video of the Dec. 10 Broomfield City Council meeting shows several council members expressing concern about how BroncuciaJordan’s office handled the aftermath of McClain’s death.

There was a discussion about whether Broomfield itself should terminate the contract with Adams County and whether it might partner with Boulder or Jefferson counties for coroner services instead.

Councilman Deven Shaff asked if there was a potential conflict of interest in the case, if there had been a meeting between the person who performed the autopsy and the coroner before the autopsy report was completed, and whether the coroner’s office met with the Aurora Police Department before or during the autopsy.

The councilman also wanted to know more about Broncucia- Jordan’s decision to rule the manner of McClain’s death to be undetermined.

“From a lot of cases from what I’ve read when a death is determined to be maybe undetermined, then a second opinion is sought,” Shaff said. “Why wasn’t there a second opinion sought in this?”

Several of Shaff’s colleagues on the council agreed with him, with Councilman Stan Jezierski saying “it would be great” to get answers from BroncuciaJordan.

“Maybe she answers them in a satisfactory manner, and we’re OK. But maybe not,” he said.

Councilwoman Elizabeth

Law- Evans said with all the investigations already going on regarding the case, it wasn’t Broomfield’s role to launch yet another one.

“I really hesitate to dive into the specific details, as a body, of this unfortunate tragedy that, quite frankly, we don’t have anything to do with,” she said.

Broomfield leaders ultimately renewed their contract with Adams County, noting that they wouldn’t have time to find a new coroner before the start of the new year.

The city was to have paid $ 364,500 to contract with Adams County this coming year, covering an estimated 310 death investigations at $ 900 each and 45 autopsies priced at $ 1,900 each, as well as costs to transport bodies, according to a city memo.

Broncucia- Jordan did not respond to an interview request Thursday.

Quinn, in a letter to BroncuciaJordan’s office shared with The Post on Thursday morning, apologized to her for the way the council had handled the renewal discussion.

“Unequivocally, you and your office should have been afforded the opportunity to respond to Council’s comments,” the mayor wrote.

“Frankly, I was at a loss how to handle Council’s comments so we went on with the unanimous vote and a note to follow up with you. With that stated, there is no feasible way for us to replace your services in two weeks.”

He asked that BroncuciaJordan help him “turn back the clock” with a special meeting in early January to formally discuss salvaging the agreement.

Quinn told The Post during an interview Thursday that he also wished the coroner had “taken a different approach” to the situation short of severing ties with Broomfield.