Трент Макклуски, избранный шериф-коронер округа Уокер, готовит модернизацию службы с упором на технологии и сотрудничество с пожарными

Walker County coroner-elect Trent McCluskey acknowledges his unusual familiarity with death as he prepares to take office. Not only through his time as deputy coroner, but much of McCluskey’s attitude toward operating the coroner’s office has also been colored by personal experiences. It was amazing at times he was not dealt with by a previous coroner. On Dec. 9, 1980, McCluskey was struck by a grocery truck while riding a motorcycle and was left in a vegetative state. He was briefly unable to walk or even make meaning of the words spoken to him. More than a decade later, in 1993, McCluskey was stabbed by an inmate and thrown from the second tier of the correctional facility where he worked. He spent 18 months recovering from fractures and various injuries before returning to law enforcement for another steadfast 25 years. Yet he survived those experiences to be elected a coroner himself. In an interview with the Daily Mountain Eagle on Friday, Aug. 7, McCluskey detailed how that familiarity translates into policy for the coroner’s office. McCluskey, a Walker County native, secured nearly 76% of the vote in the Republican primary election. As the general election in November approaches, and given that he is the only official nominee for his party, he will presumably take office on Jan. 18, 2027, save for any unlikely organized write-in campaign. McCluskey is a mild-mannered and finely articulated Walker County native whose philosophies are shaped by a riveting past. He has pursued higher education, traveled abroad for mission work, and spent years working as a deputy coroner with the men who inspired him to seek the office he will soon presume. McCluskey has encountered death professionally and carried its weight alongside grieving families. “I have worked with Bob Green, who served as coroner of this county — a tremendous example of professionalism, punctuality and respect,” he said. “I worked with Fred Burke, who served as coroner of this county — compassionate and loving of families.” Alongside his own experiences, McCluskey understands the importance of carrying death’s weight into rooms already laden with grief. “The coroner is the voice of the dead,” McCluskey said with an earnest grin. “Death is real for every family here in Walker County, but we move forward with life for a stronger tomorrow.” McCluskey has a knack for framing the duties of the coroner’s office in conceptual terms. Throughout his campaign, he has cited principles, ethics and spirituality as bedrock features of his approach, occasionally referring to its responsibilities as a “sacred trust.” “I’ve been blessed to have a servant’s heart, and I look forward to knowing this is the one job you go into knowing that when you walk away from a door, the people aren’t happy, but at least they will know you walk away with integrity and their trust,” he said. “No deceit, no hidden agenda. Just the message of death.” Behind his philosophy, however, are practical frameworks for putting those principles into practice. McCluskey has outlined plans to improve response times, such as purchasing new computers for training and analyzing each district’s unique challenges, to ensure faster and more effective responses across Walker County. He has already begun pursuing individual preparation. In July, he completed “Medicolegal Process: From Autopsy to Witness Stand,” presented by Dr. P. Michael Murphy at the Prattville Police Department. The course covered examinations, evidence gathering and organ preservation for further analysis. He is also registered to attend the 17th Annual Foley Forensic Seminar in October, a three-day training event focused on death investigations and forensics. Recognizing that death investigation has become increasingly technical, McCluskey plans to incorporate advances in DNA analysis, evidence preservation and other forensic technologies to modernize the office and improve accuracy. “We will not stagnate,” McCluskey said. “We will grow. We will pursue knowledge.” However, he acknowledged the job's spontaneity. “We don’t know what the next call is,” McCluskey said. “Nobody is 100% prepared, and we will brief and debrief, and interact and say, ‘How do we improve?” The role of first responders is another major facet of McCluskey’s vision. He particularly emphasized the relationship between the coroner’s office and local fire departments, which are often on scene before a coroner arrives. “Fire shows us where the deceased is. Fire often tells us who the deceased is. Fire often explains to us how they got the call and came to the scene,” he said. “We already rely on them a tremendous amount.” Improving response times, McCluskey said, also benefits those agencies. Firefighters and emergency medical personnel can sometimes be required to remain at a death scene until a coroner arrives, potentially tying up emergency resources needed elsewhere. “The greatest tool among us is other people,” he said. “We’ll work hand in hand with the fire department, and we’ll pursue helping them in every way possible.” Preparing for death, according to McCluskey, involves more than understanding its forensic and logistical components. He aims to bring hope to families in their darkest moments, showing genuine compassion while maintaining focus on his responsibilities at the scene. “We grieve. We’re human beings. We weep together,” he said. “I will not become stoic. Yet I will not lose focus of my purpose.” McCluskey described duties such as eliminating chaos and establishing order. As he puts it, he is not “paid to mourn" but he does mourn. “No profession should rob you of your humanity,” McCluskey said. “And if it does, leave that profession.” He expects training to change, technology to advance and for each death to present circumstances the office could not necessarily anticipate. He does not, however, expect to change the obligations that come with being entrusted with a human’s sacred death space. The balance between professionalism and compassion has followed McCluskey from the lessons he took from Green and Burke to his plans for the office today. “That’s our goal. And how is that going to be done?” McCluskey said. “One call at a time, one heartache at a time. One healing at a time.” While continuing a career of notable public service and having more than one encounter with mortality, McCluskey looks forward to savoring more life through work that attests to its end. “What am I most proud of?” he said. “That God let me live this life, and that we’re not through yet.”