Coconino County gets new chief medical examiner

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Dr. Michael Madsen began as the new Coconino County Health and Human Services Chief Medical Examiner March 2. He follows the retirement of Dr. Lawrence Czarnecki.

“Coconino County Health and Human Services is thrilled to have Dr. Madsen as Chief Medical Examiner. We also want to thank Dr. Czarnecki for the incredibly positive impact he’s had on our County and its residents, and we congratulate him on his retirement,” said Coconino County Health and Human Services Director Kim Musselman.

Madsen has served as the Coconino County Assistant Medical Examiner for over six years. He is board-certified in Anatomic and Forensic Pathology and previously worked with the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office in Ramsey, Minnesota. He graduated from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 2006 after which he completed pathology residency at the University of Vermont. He then completed his forensic pathology fellowship at the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Recruitment for the Assistant Medical Examiner position is underway.

In this position, the assistant will work under general direction and performs work of considerable difficulty in postmortem examinations to determine the cause and manner of death and, if necessary, assists law enforcement in the identity of deceased persons.

Interested parties may learn more or apply at Coconino.az.gov/ME2024.