St. Tammany Parish’s incoming coroner will quickly face a recall petition if, as expected, he assumes office at midnight Monday, according to the Parish President Mike Cooper.
Dr. Christopher Tape has faced numerous requests for him to not take office or step down, including earlier this month from the St. Tammany Parish Council.
Tape will succeed Dr. Charles Preston, whose term ends at the end of the day Sunday.
An investigative report by WWL Louisiana’s David Hammer in February set off calls by several officials to have Tape not assume office after he ran unopposed and was elected to replace current coroner Charles Preston.
Tape had previously worked in the coroner’s office before he was fired by Preston over an unrelated dispute.
Preston tells WWL Louisiana he's disappointed that he has to hand over the keys to someone who he believes isn't acting in the best interest of residents.
"I think Dr. Tape has a narrow view of the job, and this is based on what he said in public. What he said in public is the only job of the coroner is death investigations. For the last 10 years the message I've been pushing out is we are so much more than death investigation. We have huge mental health responsibilities," Preston said.
Hammer’s report showed that Tape was charged with six counts of child sexual abuse in 2002 but he did not stand trial due to court delays. The report also showed that Tape had recently paid out a civil settlement in 2022 regarding allegations of unwanted advances.
Cooper told WWL Louisiana that he would like to see a new election for the post.
“A formal recall petition is expected to be started and circulated to obtain signatures from registered voters in St. Tammany,” said Cooper. "I believe most, if not all elected officials will support the effort to recall the new coroner.”
While a recall petition is easy to file, getting the measure on the ballot will take some doing. It will take more than 37,000 certified signatures from registered St. Tammany Parish voters to trigger a recall election, based on 20% of the 188,000 registered voters there.
"Well, right now the most expeditious way to try to get him removed, which is a heavy lift, is a recall," State Representative Jay Galle said. "I think the community would rally behind this and maybe we can get that done. If that fails, then we as legislators in Baton Rouge, we'll see what we can do from a statutory level to try to provide some way to find a different corner for St. Tammany Parish."
Tape is also under some fire as he recently announced plans to end the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program there and kick the responsibility for all forensic medical examinations to area hospitals.
Galle, who was one of 10 lawmakers who penned a letter expressing their dissatisfaction with Tape's decision to dissolve SANE, says he's working to find another solution should a recall of Tape fail.
Tape’s sudden announcement on the SANE program cuts the jobs of two full-time nurses and additional part-time nurses.
Tape sent an email to WWL Louisiana this past Wednesday saying that while he had previously said that he could run the program fairly, “I didn’t promise I’d keep it.”
He said he had been considering the move since last fall and notified hospitals he was designating them to take over the sexual assault exams.
Hospital officials told WWL Louisiana they do not have the expertise or proper equipment to handle proper sexual assault evidence on Monday. By law, the coroner is in charge of the SANE program and collection of rape kits and other evidence for sexual assault investigations.