Editor, Times-Union:
My name is Paul Schmitt. I was appointed by Tyler Huffer to be his chief deputy coroner in 2023. My background is law enforcement with forty years’ service first with Warsaw Police Department and then the Winona Lake Police Department. While a member of the Warsaw Police Department I worked my way through the ranks, beginning as a dispatcher and finishing as the captain. I was a detective for ten of those years where I conducted investigations ranging from petty theft to death investigations. Once promoted to captain, I was the supervisor of four full-time detectives.
After I retired from Warsaw, I took the position of town marshall of Winona Lake. I continued conducting investigations of crimes committed in the town. For these reasons Tyler Huffer asked me to take the role of his chief deputy coroner.
Tyler has implemented policies and protocols in the Coroner’s Office that have opened the line of communications between our office and the investigators we work with on almost every case that comes to the office. I have heard many positive comments from my former fellow investigators who say they have more communication and access to the coroner’s reports than ever before. This was accomplished by Tyler through allowing law enforcement to access our digital file case reports and the attachments that become part of the investigation from toxicology, autopsies and photos.
Most recently, we heard from Indiana Organ Procurement about their mission to save lives through donations not only of organs but skin, corneas, tendons and bones. We will be working closely with them to keep them informed when we have possible donations.
I have worked with all the deputy coroners in our office and every one of them is a dedicated professional with compassion and drive to keep our office operating in the most efficient way. We are a first-class operation because of the leadership of Tyler Huffer.
Paul Schmitt, MDI
Chief Deputy Coroner
Kosciusko County, via email