Crowley Appoints New Medical Examiner

Milwaukee County Medical Examiner, 933 W. Highland Ave. Photo by Dave Reid.

Milwaukee County may soon have a new medical examiner.

County Executive David Crowley has appointed Dr. Wieslawa Tlomak to the position. Tlomak has worked for the Office of the Medical examiner since 2006, and has served as deputy medical examiner since 2010.

Her appointment to the position will require confirmation by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors. If confirmed, she will replace former medical examiner Dr. Brian L. Peterson, who abruptly retired in October 2022. Since Peterson’s departure, Tlomak has been serving as Interim Chief Medical Examiner.

Tlomak received her medical degree from Wroclaw Medical University. She practiced as a pediatrician in Poland and immigrated to the U.S. to pursue a career in pathology. She completed her residency in anatomic and clinical pathology and her fellowship in forensic pathology at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center.

“I am very confident that Dr. Tlomak possesses the proper credentials to perform extremely well as our Medical Examiner and I encourage your approval of her confirmation,” the county executive said in his appointment letter to the board of supervisors.

Tlomak is a member of the National Association of Medical Examiners, the American Academy of Forensic Science and the Wisconsin Medical Society.

Dr. Kenneth B. Simons, who worked in the medical examiner’s office from 1989 to 2022, wrote a letter of recommendation for Tlomak, stating she is “exceptionally qualified for this role” and that she is “nationally recognized for her expertise in forensic pathology.”

Dr. P. Douglas M. Kelley, the Deputy Chief Medical Examiner in Milwaukee County, also wrote, “I am aware that Dr. Tlomak has weathered a lot of challenges and periods of office turmoil in her 17 years with the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office. Despite those trying times, she has remained resolute in providing excellent forensic pathology, has remained dedicated to Milwaukee County and has maintained high ethical standards.”

Kelly also expressed high regard for Tlomak’s organization and leadership within the office, adding, “As a pathologist, I believe her to be exceptional.”

“At a time when forensic pathology continues to struggle as a profession, with Medical Examiner Offices across the nation grappling with how to hire and retain talented doctors, I feel she is someone who will proactively address these problems so that Milwaukee may enjoy a stable ME office staff for years to come,” Kelly said. “More important than just understanding the crises in forensic pathology, I feel Dr. Tlomak understands the problems facing our Medical Examiner’s office; and, I think she’s willing to do what it takes to solve them.”

The office has struggled with staffing, and is short of both pathologists and investigators. Nationwide, there is a shortage of forensic pathologists making it difficult to recruit. The former medical examiner, Peterson, offered this as one reason for his support for a new $226 million Forensic Science Center to house the medical examiner and the state Department of Justice Crime Lab. The medical examiner’s current facility is old and dilapidated, and it was not originally built to be a forensic medical building.

Tlomak’s appointment will go before the board of supervisors in March.