Internal emails reveal mounting frustrations ahead of medical examiner’s abrupt retirement

By Caroline Reinwald

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    MILWAUKEE (WISN) — New behind-the-scenes insights reveal mounting tensions and frustrations between former Milwaukee County medical examiner Dr. Brian Peterson and County Executive David Crowley.

Through a public records request, WISN 12 News exclusively obtained a year’s worth of internal emails between the two county officials, before Peterson abruptly retired in September, with no explanation.

In the emails, Peterson repeatedly brings up the same issues his office suffered from lack of staffing, ‘relentless’ workloads, discouraging lack of progress on a new building location and salaries too low to compete.

Peterson also called the current building the office was in ‘an ongoing disaster’ and urged Crowley to purchase lab equipment that would help lessen the workload strain.

In one letter, Peterson said their office is so short-staffed, it doesn’t meet the National Association of Medical Examiner Accreditation standards.

He also implored Crowley that in order to attract job candidates, the county needs to add $750,000 to the budget in salaries.

“I hate to say this, inaction is not an option. We are on the edge of a game-ending, critical pathologist shortage every day now. With the retirement of two senior pathologists only a couple years away, this situation will only become more dire,” Peterson wrote in one letter.

Up until now, Crowley has repeatedly declined to speak about Peterson’s departure.

“At the end of the day, Dr. Peterson retired. If he wants to talk to you about his situation with Milwaukee County, he has every opportunity to do that,” Crowley told reporters this week. “I’m not going to discuss HR issues in the media.”

In the emails, Peterson originally indicated he didn’t plan on retiring until 2024. He also at one point compared the state of affairs inside his office as the ‘Titanic going down.’

WISN 12 News has repeatedly tried talking to Peterson, but he’s never responded.

Peterson is also holding up multiple court cases currently, former Milwaukee police officer Michael Mattioli’s case as one example.

Crowley’s office replied at least once to Peterson’s email requests for salary, declining him outright.

“All departments for Milwaukee County are 20% to 40% understaffed and and all job classifications are off the mark for competitive salaries,” a spokesperson from Crowley’s office wrote Peterson. “We are also facing a fiscal cliff in which we will no longer be able to fund both Milwaukee County Parks or Transit in the next four to five years. So the increase in salaries you are asking for, is a non-starter without being able to get the sales tax, which remains a no go with the current status of who is in control of spending for our state.”

Crowley’s office also pointed out in one email to Peterson it already committed more than $1.6 million in federal funding to the medical examiner’s office for lab equipment and management software, in order to help with the increasing workload.

County officials back in September confirmed to WISN 12 News the medical examiner’s office can’t fit everything it needs in its current building. It’s why the state allocated $20 million to construct a new building that will house multiple county departments, including the new medical examiner’s office.

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