KING COUNTY, WA - After 24 years, King County is losing one of its best known and most well-respected public servants. Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Don Reay will retire at the end of this month.

"Dr. Reay has built a Medical Examiner's office that is one of the premier organizations in this country, if not the world. He will be missed," said King County Executive Ron Sims. "He has attained international stature in his field and is continually called upon to consult on cases around the world."

"Don demonstrates the public health dimension of the Medical Examiner's Office by studying how and why people died," said Dr. Alonzo Plough, Director, Public Health – Seattle & King County. "This dedication to studying death improves the general health of our entire community."

Dr. Reay is well known for his compassion for the families and friends of those who are deceased. When investigating a death, he always remembered that each case involved the death of a person whose absence was being grieved by friends and relatives.

Throughout his tenure as Medical Examiner, Dr. Reay has served on the faculty of University of Washington School of Medicine, where he is a Professor of Pathology. He also served in the leadership of a number of state and national, professional organizations, including the State Forensic Investigations Council, the National Association of Medical Examiners, the American Board of Pathology, and the American Society of Clinical Pathologists.

He has published more than 75 professional articles on forensic pathology. His body of work includes a detailed analysis of restraint methods used by police officers, specifically a 1982 study on police "choke-holds" which changed the way officers restrain suspects. He also co-authored a 1991 study which showed a higher rate of suicide in homes where a gun is present.

Additionally, Dr. Reay is a Retired Colonel in the United States Army Reserve and was on active duty in the United States Air Force and Operation Desert Storm.

Dr. Reay's last day as King County's Medical Examiner is June 30, 1999.