EL PASO COUNTY — Following a 17-year tenure with the El Paso County Coroner's Office, El Paso County Coroner Dr. Leon Kelly has decided to step away from the position.
According to the coroner's office, Dr. Kelly will vacate the position on December 31, 2024. He was first elected as the coroner in 2018.
Dr. Kelly was instrumental and a co-founder of the El Paso County Child Fatality Review Team and is the board chair of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) groups that work to end teen and adult suicide.
Before his time as County Coroner, Dr. Kelly was a professor at University of Colorado Colorado Springs for over a decade, where he taught many courses on the investigation of injury and death.
During his time as Coroner, he has fought for stricter regulations on the qualifications to become El Paso's County Coroner, and other counties like his.
Dr. Leon Kelly discusses the need for stronger coroner requirements.
In an interview with KOAA from February, Dr. Kelly spoke on the crucial role that County Coroner plays in our community, and how these regulations would only serve to benefit the people affected.
"These aren't jobs for everybody, and so they need to be jobs that on day one, when you get elected and show up, people are going to die and bad things are going to happen and they need to be able to go."
His official resignation letter can be found below.
___
Homeless Union in Colorado Springs speaks out during cleanup operation
Multiple people experiencing homelessness talked on camera as the City of Colorado Springs executed a cleanup operation on Wednesday. The operation continues Thursday.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
