Joseph Lawrence Cogan is an American coroner who served as acting

Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner (formerly the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner and Department of Coroner) was created in its present form on December 17, 1920 by an ordinance approved by the Los Angeles County Board ...

from 1990 to 1992.

Early career

Cogan graduated from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

Stritch School of Medicine Stritch School of Medicine is the medical school affiliated with Loyola University Chicago. It is located at the heart of the Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois. The medical campus includes Foster G. McGaw Hospital, Cardinal B ...

. From 1971 to 1973 he served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

as a general medical officer and briefly served in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. He completed his pathology residency at Loyola University Medical Center.

Los Angeles County

In 1977 he joined the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's and Coroner's Office. In 1986 he became senior medical examiner, the third-highest medical position in the department. He supervised deputy medical examiners and residents in forensic pathology. Autopsies performed by Cogan include those on Dennis Wilson and Charlotte Lamb (victim of

Rodney Alcala Rodney James Alcala (born Rodrigo Jacques Alcala Buquor; August 23, 1943 – July 24, 2021), dubbed the Dating Game Killer, was an American serial killer and sex offender who died of natural causes while on death row in California. He was senten ...

Acting Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner

In 1990 Cogan was appointed acting Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner following the resignation of Ronald Kornblum. During his tenure in this position, the county's murder rate jumped by 18% and the office struggled to keep up with the high murder toll of 38 homicides per week. In 1991, the office conducted 6,256 autopsies and investigated 18,068 suspicious or violent deaths (including 2,401 possible homicides). Los Angeles County Supervisor Deane Dana described the office as "operating smooth as glass" under Cogan. After the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors' first selection for Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner, Dr. Joshua Perper of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, declined the job due to Los Angeles' high housing costs and its second choice, Dr. Yong-Myun Rho, of

Queens, New York Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long I ...

thrice failed the state medical exam, it appeared that Cogan would get the job. However, the department's chief of forensic medicine,

Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran (born March 17, 1949; ta, லட்சுமணன் சத்யவாகீஸ்வரன்) is the former Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner for the County of Los Angeles. In 2016, he again took over this position ...

, was selected instead after the Board of Supervisors received a letter signed by several deputy medical examiners recommending the consideration of in house candidates rather than appointing an outsider.

Cook County

Cogan later left Los Angeles to serve as an assistant medical examiner in

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

. He was also contracted to perform autopsies for

Kane County, Illinois Kane County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 515,269, making it the fifth-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Geneva, and its largest city is Aurora. Kane County is ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cogan, J Lawrence Living people American coroners United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Loyola University Chicago alumni People from Cook County, Illinois People from Los Angeles United States Army Medical Corps officers People from Kane County, Illinois Year of birth missing (living people) Military personnel from California Military personnel from Illinois