Paul R. Parker III is the former Chief Deputy Director at the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner, former Assistant Coroner at the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner, former Director of the Pinal County (AZ) Medical Examiner’s Office, and previously held Chief Investigator roles at Medical Examiner Offices in San Diego County (CA) and Maricopa County (Phoenix, AZ).
Paul has participated in several thousand on-scene medicolegal death investigations, conducted at least 13,000 solo telephonic/electronically reported medicolegal death investigations, and reviewed and approved reports and circumstances in excess of 20,000 medicolegal additional death investigations. He has also conducted several hundred death notifications.
Mr. Parker was a member of the California Coroner Curriculum Development Committee, an instructor at the California Coroner Academy, an American Academy of Forensic Sciences Standards Board Medicolegal Death Investigation Consensus Body Member, and an Executive Board Member of the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners (IAC&ME). Mr. Parker has authored hundreds of policies and procedures pertaining to medicolegal death.
Mr. Parker has been a featured guest on the only podcast dedicated to medicolegal death notification, CoronerTalk.com, on which he has presented: Critical Role of Managers and Administrators in Medical Examiner/Coroner Offices, Medicolegal Death Investigation Overview for First Responders, Professional Ethics in Medicolegal Death Investigation, Shaken Baby Syndrome, Medicolegal Death Investigation Report Writing, and Incident and Death Scene Investigation and Body Examinations.
Mr. Parker has been a featured speaker at the Annual IAC&ME Conference, presenting Ethics in Medicolegal Death Investigation, Report Writing, and Death Notification to Next-of-Kin.
Prior to entering the field of death investigation, Mr. Parker had a 10-year law enforcement career during which he progressively held the ranks of police aide, police officer, detective, sergeant, lieutenant, and acting police chief at the Youngtown Police Department (AZ). He was an AZPOST general instructor, physical fitness instructor, field training officer, and hostage negotiator. Mr. Parker has received two lifesaving awards, one for his role as the negotiator in the peaceful resolution of a hostage situation and the other for his efforts during a medical emergency. Mr. Parker was accepted to the FBI National Academy and was the Town Council’s first choice for Police Chief in the late-1990’s but turned down both opportunities to pursue his passion for death investigation after being involved in an on-duty shooting.
