Parish coroner gets an upgrade

Office will be able to do blood alcohol analysis in lab

By Debbie Glover
St. Tammany News
Published on Sunday, March 7, 2010 12:25 AM CST

Print this story | Email this story | Post A Comment |

Within three to six months, the St. Tammany Parish Coroner’s Office will be able to conduct blood alcohol analysis in their Slidell lab instead of sending the samples to the Louisiana State Police Crime Lab.

Executive Director and spokesperson Melanie Croft said the lab now has the equipment, the personnel and the procedures.

However, state law mandates the staff take a course conducted by the state police lab in order to perform the analyses. The course is 24 hours, or about three days, long. The next course will be offered anywhere from three to six months from now.

“Dr. (Peter) Galvan has wanted this capability for a long time. He is very excited that we are getting close,” Croft said.

The turnaround time will be about a week. While Croft was unsure about the current turnaround time with the state police lab, it must be completed within 30 days as mandated by law.

“We are hoping this will help in DUI cases in the local courts,” she said.

The procedure will allow the coroner’s office to take the sample collected in suspected DUI or DWI cases and analyze the blood for alcohol content.

Croft said that eventually, they hope to be able to conduct other blood analyses and toxicology at the Slidell site.

She said the new chief forensic toxicologist, Dr. John Lizarraga, plans to have the capacity to do analysis and get the reports back to law enforcement within a week.

According to the coroner’s office press release about the new capabilities, “We are doing everything in our power to expedite Louisiana State Police’s actions (meaning the course) so that drunk drivers can be taken off the roads of St. Tammany Parish.”

Print this story | Email this story | Post A Comment |

Comments

No comments posted.

WRITE A COMMENT

Use the form below to post a brief comment to this story, or respond to other readers. Please use the word count tool to assist you in keeping your remarks to 100 words or fewer.

Comment posters are responsible for the opinions they express and the accuracy of the information they provide. We urge comment writers to treat this as a public forum where manners matter. We encourage a collegial, non-insulting tone. All readers comments must be approved by our staff before posting to the Web site. They review submitted comments periodically during the day for offensive or off-topic content before posting. Be aware, in accordance with the Communications Decency Act and provisions upheld in judicial appeal, that you are responsible for comments posted on this Web site. The St. Tammany News is not liable for messages from third parties.

DO NOT POST:
* Potentially libelous statements or damaging innuendo.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults or threats.
* The use of another person's real name to disguise your identity.
* Comments unrelated to the story.
* Personal Information (phone numbers, addresses, etc.)

Opinions, advice and all other information expressed in thesttammanynews.com's reader comments represent the individual's own views and not necessarily those of the St. Tammany News. The St. Tammany News does not endorse and is not responsible for statements, advice or opinions offered by anyone other than authorized St. Tammany News spokespersons.

Your thoughtful contribution to the online discussion is appreciated.