jim curtice

Do you think Curtice should resign?

The commissioners' letter to Curtice states, “Your recent conduct as Yakima County Coroner has caused us to lack confidence.

Deputy Coroner Marshal Slight is now in charge of the coroners office.

Police say Curtice took drugs from "deceased bodies in the course of his duties" and used the drugs on a daily basis over a course of several months.

Yakima Police say Curtice could soon face criminal charges after he reported to police that he'd been poisoned earlier this month.

A press release from the department says on August 27 Curtice reported allegations of an alleged assault in the second degree via poisoning to the Yakima Police Department.

Yakima County is grappling with a rising tide of overdose deaths this year, significantly driven by the pervasive presence of fentanyl.

Statewide overdose death rates have skyrocketed in recent years.

. It's a major mental health crisis that started to show increases in 2021 during the COVID pandemic.

Yakima County Coroner Jim Curtice says so far this year the number stands at 83 suspected or confirmed overdose deaths.

Yakima County Coroner Jim Curtice says the 95 people who died of overdoses in 2021 set the record for the county.

So far this year 61 people have died of a drug overdose. The number was 54 at the end of last month.