Montrose Press: Montrose County and the Western Slope’s suicide rates are statistically higher than more metro parts of the state, and coroners see reducing access to the autopsy reports of juvenile victims as a means of cutting down on “copycat” suicides.

“We know there are copycat suicides. We’re trying to avoid that,” Dr. Thomas Canfield, Montrose County coroner, said Saturday, during a brief sit-down lunch with Gov. Jared Polis and other elected officials from Montrose County and the City of Montrose.

Last year, the Legislature overwhelmingly passed Senate Bill 223, “Concerning the Circumstances Under Which an Autopsy Report is Prepared in Connection with the Death of a Minor May be Released to Certain Parties.”

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