County’s chief coroner adds to credentials
Scott Schmidt
MEDINA – Scott M. Schmidt, the chief coroner for Orleans County, has successfully passed the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI) Registry examination for professional death investigators receiving the designation of Diplomat.
A Registered Medicolegal Death Investigator (or D-ABMDI) is an individual who, according to ABMDI criteria, has demonstrated the professional knowledge, practical skills, and ethical conduct necessary to conduct a proper medicolegal death investigation as required by the publication Death Investigation: A Guide for the Scene Investigator, published by the National Institutes of Justice.
The ABMDI is a national, not-for-profit, independent, professional certification board that has been established to promote the highest standards of practice for medicolegal death investigators. Certification by the ABMDI requires that the applicant pass a 240-item objective National Board Examination to prove that he/she has attained the knowledge and has successfully demonstrated knowledge in performing over 300 skills necessary to conduct quality, comprehensive medicolegal death investigations.
The ABMDI was created in 1998 with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was created by veteran, practicing medicolegal death investigators from throughout the United States who have been involved in the development of the National Guidelines for Death Investigation published by the National Institutes of Justice.
Schmidt is a funeral director with the Christopher Mitchell Funeral Homes, Inc. of Albion and Holley, the Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Homes of Albion and Holley, the Bates, Wallace and Heath Funeral Home of Middleport.
Schmidt has served Orleans County as Coroner since 1990. He was appointed chief coroner by the Orleans County Legislature in 1997 and is also a member of the United States Department of Health and Human Services National Disaster Medical System serving on the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team. He has responded to four major mass fatality events as a DMORT member including the World Trade Center following the attacks on 9/11/2001.
In addition, Schmidt served as a subject matter expert on a State Emergency Management Working Group which developed Mass Fatality Plan Writing Guidance for Counties in New York State. There are only 59 D-AMBDI’s in New York State, Schmidt being one of them and the only Nationally Certified Death Medicolegal Death Investigator in Orleans County.
Schmidt lives in Medina with his wife Aleka, and his two daughters; Hayley and Danielle. He is the son of Bruce Schmidt, Town of Gaines Justice and former Orleans County Assistant District Attorney.
