Yakima County Coroner Jim Curtice back on job after treatment for PTSD

May 4—Yakima County Coroner Jim Curtice is back at work almost two months after assaulting a sheriff's deputy in what was described as a "mental health crisis."

Shortly after the incident, Curtice checked in to Deer Hollow, a rehabilitation center in Draper, Utah, that specializes in treating first responders dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder.

"I am doing very well," Curtice said Thursday, his first day back in the office. "(Deer Hollow) is rated No. 1 in the nation and I did some hard work."

Curtice said the rehabilitation center cleared him to come back to work without any restrictions. He said he plans to serve out his term, which expires in 2026.

Yakima County sheriff's deputies went to Curtice's Gleed-area home March 10 after Curtice's stepson, Yakima police officer Colbey Molner, told a sheriff's sergeant that his mother said Curtice had left home intoxicated and driving his county-owned vehicle, according to reports filed by the sheriff's office.

Curtice's wife, Kristi Foster, said she and Curtice had an argument in which he accidentally kicked her before taking the home's security cameras and leaving, the reports said. She disputes saying he was intoxicated.

An off-duty sheriff's deputy found Curtice at a nearby bar and, seeing Curtice was intoxicated, drove him home. As they were going to the front door, Curtice began fighting with the deputy, Justin Swale, and said he was going to kill himself and others, the report said.

Sheriff's Sgt. Joel Panattoni and Deputies Robert Hubbard and Taylor Bossert arrived and handcuffed Curtice and were walking him to a patrol vehicle when he kicked Hubbard in the leg, the report said, knocking over both the deputy and himself, the report said.

The deputies took Curtice to MultiCare Yakima Memorial Hospital, where he continued to scream obscenities and threatened to kill people until hospital staff sedated him, the report said.

Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Brusic declined to pursue third-degree assault charges against Curtice because he did not believe he could prove beyond reasonable doubt that he intentionally assaulted Hubbard. He also said there was no evidence to pursue a drunken driving charge.

Foster, in an interview with the Yakima Herald-Republic, said the incident was the result of Curtice's PTSD, which she said was the result of a combination of childhood trauma and 30 years he spent as a first responder, working as a firefighter, emergency medical technician, paramedic and paramedic supervisor.

Reach Donald W. Meyers at dmeyers@yakimaherald.com.

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