ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. -- The Adams County Coroner, Monica Broncucia-Jordan, has agreed to new contract with the City and County of Broomfield.
The contract agreement comes after Broncucia-Jordan's previous decision to severe ties with Broomfield following a city council meeting on Dec. 10 where the renewal of the coroner's services were discussed.
Councilmember Deven Shaff brought up concerns about Broncucia-Jordan's handling of Elijah McClain's autopsy. Those concerns will specifically centered around a CPR report which uncovered that Broncucia-Jordan met with Aurora police before the man’s cause of death was determined.
A video archive of the meeting shows at least four other council members agreed with the concerns that were raised.
Days later, in a letter obtained by Denver7 dated Dec. 16, Broncucia-Jordan wrote,
"The majority of your council expressed a clear lack of confidence in my office, based solely on media reports, assumptions and speculation."
In a letter obtained by Denver7 dated Dec. 17, Broomfield's Mayor, Patrick Quinn, wrote to Broncucia-Jordan saying,
"Unequivocally, you and your office should have been afforded the opportunity to respond to Council’s comments. 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.
That is unfortunate and it should have been handled differently."
Quinn said this week he and Broncucia-Jordan were able to discuss the matter further, and she agreed to the 2021 Intergovernmental Agreement to provide coroner services for Broomfield.
He added, "that contract includes a provision for a 120 termination [and so] both parties would have the ability to terminate in 120 days."
Despite that provision, Quinn said he's optimistic that the City and County of Broomfield can maintain a working relationship with the Adams County Coroner.
"My hope personally as the mayor is that we'll extend our partnership into 2020 and beyond. We have to have a coroner, it's essential for our citizens."
He added that Broncucia-Jordan will attend the city council meeting on Jan. 12.
"On January 12, council will have the chance to ask her questions and she'll have the chance to answer questions, and we'll have that dialogue,"
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ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. – The Adams County Coroner told Broomfield’s mayor and city council that she would not extend services to the city after 2020, after city council members expressed “a clear lack of confidence” in her office for its handling of the Elijah McClain death investigation.
In a letter sent Wednesday to Broomfield Mayor Patrick Quinn and city council, Monica Broncucia-Jordan said she elected not to renew the contract between her office and the city for the next year, an agreement which has been in place for nearly 20 years, half of those under Broncucia-Jordan’s leadership.
The Adams County Coroner wrote in the letter she was never contacted by the mayor’s office or Broomfield City Council before Dec. 10 to answer questions or concerns city leaders had about the coroner’s handling of the investigation into McClain’s death, which she said she only found out after reading an article in the media.
“I find the lack of communication from Broomfield Council and the discussion at the Council meeting completely unprofessional,” Broncucia-Jordan wrote, adding the majority of city council “expressed a clear lack of confidence in my Office, based solely on media reports, assumptions and speculation.”
Last Friday, the Broomfield Enterprise reported Councilman Deven Shaff had questions concerning the coroner’s role in the McClain death investigation. The concerns centered around a CPR report which uncovered that Broncucia-Jordan met with Aurora police before the man’s cause of death was determined. Several other council members at the meeting agreed with the concerns raised by Shaff, according to the Broomfield Enterprise.
The autopsy report stated the Adams County Coroner couldn’t determine whether McClain’s death was an accident, was due to natural causes, or is a homicide related to the police department's use of a carotid hold. The report, dated November 7, 2019, sated McClain’s death as “undetermined.”
Mayor Quinn, in a letter obtained by Denver7 Thursday, sought to “set the clock back to weeks,” apologizing for not notifying Broncucia-Jordan about the council meeting in which the renewal of the coroner’s services was discussed.
“Unequivocally, you and your office should have been afforded the opportunity to respond to Council’s comments. 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,” Quinn wrote in the letter, apologizing for the way in which the renewal for the coroner’s services were handled. “That is unfortunate and it should have been handled differently.”
Quinn also stated in his letter that “there is no feasible way for us to replace your services in two weeks,” and offered to have a special meeting in early January to formally discuss the coroner’s Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) as well as the office’s services with her in attendance.
"I'm hoping we can set the clock back a couple of weeks with the coroner and, you know, have the discussion in a way that's more fruitful,” Quinn said in an interview with Denver7 Thursday. “We need her to go in 2021.”
