Coroner denies validity of protester’s claims

East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner Dr. Shannon Cooper says it’s business as usual at his office today, despite a planned protest led by a man who claims the coroner mishandled his son’s autopsy. Cooper says he has no plans of speaking with any protesters who show up at his office today. He denies having mishandled any cases and says he doesn’t think the protest will have a negative impact on his campaign. Cooper is in a runoff with challenger Dr. William “Beau” Clark on Saturday’s ballot. “We haven’t done anything wrong,” Cooper says. “It’s an unfortunate situation for the family and I do feel bad for them, but there’s been no mishandling of any cases.” Keith Traylor, spokesman for the group behind the protest, announced the protest Monday, saying in a release, “My son, Jeremy, died due to a drug overdose that we feel was covered up by the Coroner’s Office, and it’s time to take a stand against corruption by public officials.” Traylor also alluded to other cases of people losing loved ones under “suspicious circumstances,” but did not specify names. The protest is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. at Cooper’s office at 4030 T.B. Hearndon St. Cooper says the Traylor case was one in which the family had expected certain autopsy results that were not confirmed when the autopsy was performed. “When you deal with seven or eight thousand people a year, there are going to be cases in which people don’t get the answers they expect, and that’s the case here,” Cooper says. —Steve Sanoski