STATE OF IDAHO

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

LAWRENCE G. WASDEN

October 21, 2014

Peter Heimlich
3630 River Hollow Run
Duluth, GA 30096

RE: Boise City Officials and Ada County Coroner Complaint

Dear Mr. Heimlich,

Our office has received your complaint regarding various Boise City officials and
the Ada County Coroner, Erwin Sonnenberg. After reviewing your complaint and
all of the materials you have submitted to our office, we are writing to inform you
that we will be taking no further action in this matter.

Our office reviewed your complaint pursuant to Idaho Code 31-2002. That
statute authorizes the Attorney General to conduct a preliminary investigation of
"any allegation of a violation of state law, criminal or civil, against a county officer
occupying an elective office for violation of state law in his official capacity."
Idaho Code 31-2002(1). Upon completion of the preliminary investigation, the

Attorney General may do one of three things: issue a finding that no further
action is necessary, prescribe training or other non-judicial remedies that do not
involve the filing of criminal charges or a civil action, or issue a finding that further
investigation or prosecution is warranted.
In reviewing a complaint made to our office pursuant to this statute, our office
must make three threshold determinations: (1) whether the person who is the
subject of the complaint is a county officer occupying an elective office, (2) if so,
whether the officer in question was acting in his or her official capacity when the
actions complained of took place, and (3) whether the acts described in the
complaint constitute a potential violation of state law.

In this case, a portion of your complaint involves the actions of Boise City officials
such as representatives of the police and fire departments and the Boise City

Criminal Law Division

P.O. Box 83720, Boise, Idaho 83720-0010
Telephone: (208) 334-2400, FAX: (208) 854-8074
Located at 700 W. State Street

Joe R. Williams Building, 4th Floor

Mayor. None of these public servants are elected county officials. Your claim
against them, therefore, is not within the purview of Idaho Code 31-2002.

The rest of your claims involve the Ada County Coroner, who is an elected
county official. Providing information relating to the cause of, and circumstances

surrounding, a death can be within a county coroner's official capacity. The final
question is whether this action constitutes a potential violation of state law.

The actions which form the basis of the complaint are that Coroner Sonnenberg
gave you allegedly false information in an email relating to whether or not the

Heimlich maneuver was used on a near-drowning victim, who died a few days
after initially being resuscitated. Although there are a number of Idaho Code
sections dealing with false information as they pertain to governmental record
keeping, such as Idaho Code 18-3201, 18-3203, and 18-3204, the
circumstances of your specific complaint do not meet the elements of these
statutory provisions. Your complaint does not, therefore, amount to a violation of
Idaho Code. Thus, we find that no further action is necessary at this time.

Though ultimately we do not find a basis for further investigation or prosecution,

we appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention.
Sincerely,

Paul R. Panther
Deputy Attorney General
Chief, Criminal Law Division

cc:

Greg Bower,

Ada County Prosecuting Attorney

DIVIDER

September 5, 2014
Paul Panther
Chief, Criminal Law Division
Office of the Idaho Attorney General
700 W. Jefferson Street, Suite 210
Boise, Idaho 83720-0010
Dear Mr. Panther:
This is to respectfully request that you review the following information to determine if any laws may
have been violated and if the matter deserves further investigation, and to provide me with the results
of your findings.
First, would you please review the attached July 2, 2014 inquiry I sent to Boise Mayor David Bieter?
Briefly, I shared my concerns that, according to a June 25, 2014 KTVB-TV News report, Boise
firefighter Brent Matthews performed the Heimlich maneuver on a 56-year-old near-drowning victim
named Felix Martinez in an attempt to to resuscitate him. Reportedly, Mr. Martinez died a few days
later.
Via the KTVB report:
"He's unconscious, not breathing, no pulse," said Matthews. "I had just recently read a few
articles on the effectiveness of performing the Heimlich maneuver on drowning victims before
starting CPR."
The Heimlich maneuver proved effective: Matthews was able to get a lot of water and sand out
of the man's lungs before they started CPR, which lasted for 25 minutes.
From my letter to the mayor:
Per reports and statements compiled on my website, leading medical and water safety
organizations, including the Institute of Medicine, the American Red Cross, and the American
Heart Association, have unanimously warned against performing the Heimlich maneuver in
response to near-drowning.
Via a June 3, 2011 Washington Post report:
In Tampa, which has one of the highest drowning rates in the country, Dr. James Orlowski said
he has documented nearly 40 cases where rescuers performing the Heimlich maneuver have
caused complications for the victim. Orlowski is chief of pediatrics and pediatric intensive care
at University Community Hospital in Tampa.
Via Mayor Bieter's July 18 e-mail response to me:
The Boise Fire Department spoke with the firefighter involved in the rescue of Mr. Martinez,
reviewed the written report and checked with others, including supervisors who were on the
scene, and has confirmed that the Heimlich maneuver was not performed on the drowning
victim.
Via a July 22 e-mail to me from Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg:
I want to let you know that no one performed the Heimlich maneuver on the deceased.

Via a July 23 e-mail to me from Boise Fire Chief Dennis Doan in which he refused to further discuss
the matter:
(The) Heimlich maneuver was not performed on this rescue...The Boise Fire Department does
not, and has never, instructed our dive team, EMTs or Paramedics to perform theHeimlich
Maneuver on drowning vicms, nor do we intend to in the future.
Via the July 16 Boise Weekly:
"It turns out that, sort of contrary to what KTVB reported, and it just may have been a simple
misunderstanding, but it appears that the firefighter who pulled Mr. Martinez from the canal
did, in fact, not use the Heimlich," said Boise Fire Department Communications Director Lynn
Hightower.
Via the July 18 Idaho Statesman:
Did (Brent) Matthews actually use the Heimlich? The Boise Fire Department says no.
Spokeswoman Lynn Hightower said other emergency response officials at the scene
corroborated Matthews' report, which said he used CPR to bring Martinez back.
However, according to an August 15 KTVB News story by reporter Carolyn Holly:
The firefighter, Brent Matthews, told KTVB he had performed the Heimlich maneuver during
the rescue.
Further, in a June 25 e-mail to me, KTVB reporter Scott Evans confirmed that Mr. Matthews told him
that he had performed the Heimlich maneuver on Mr. Martinez.
Based on the above information, I'm concerned that:
1) An inaccurate report of the near-drowning incident may have been filed and false information may
have been circulated by public employees.
2) Public employees conducted an inadequate investigation.
3) Mayor Bieter, Coroner Sonnenberg, and Chief Doan may have provided me with false information.
4) Ms. Hightower may have provided false information to the press.
Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to your reply. If you have any questions which I
might be able to answer, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,

Peter M. Heimlich
3630 River Hollow Run
Duluth, GA 30096
ph: (208)474-7283
website: http://medfraud.info
blog: http://the-sidebar.com
e-mail: peter.heimlich@gmail.com

July 2, 2014
The Hon. David H. Bieter
Mayor
50 N. Capitol Blvd
Boise, ID 83702
Dear Mayor Bieter,
Via Firefighter, police officer team up to rescue man in canal by reporter Scott Evans, KTVB News, Boise, June 24, 2014:
A man pulled from the New York Canal in Boise is recovering thanks to quick thinking from the men who protect
and serve in the capital city.
...Someone called police Monday afternoon, saying that there was a man, later identified only as Mr. Martinez,
screaming for help and struggling to stay afloat in the New York Canal.
..."He's unconscious, not breathing, no pulse, said (Boise firefighter Brent) Matthews as he talked about
Martinez. We get him out. I had just recently read a few articles on the effectiveness of performing the Heimlich
maneuver on drowning victims before starting CPR."
The Heimlich maneuver proved effective. Matthews was able to get a lot of water and sand out of the man's lungs
before they started CPR, which lasted for 25 minutes.
Per reports and statements compiled on my website, leading medical and water safety organizations, including the
Institute of Medicine, the American Red Cross, and the American Heart Association, have unanimously warned against
performing the Heimlich maneuver in response to near-drowning.
Via a June 3, 2011 Washington Post report:
In Tampa, which has one of the highest drowning rates in the country, Dr. James Orlowski said he has
documented nearly 40 cases where rescuers performing the Heimlich maneuver have caused complications for the
victim. Orlowski is chief of pediatrics and pediatric intensive care at University Community Hospital in Tampa.
Today the office of the Ada County Coroner informed me that the victim in the KTVB story was named Felix Martinez and
that he died on Saturday, June 28.
This is to respectfully request that:
1) You ask the office of the Ada County Coroner to conduct an inquest.
2) You initiate a review to determine if Mr. Matthews's response was in compliance with applicable standards and
guidelines.
3) You ask Mr. Matthews to provide you with copies of the articles he had recently read...on the effectiveness of
performing the Heimlich maneuver on drowning victims before starting CPR" and that you provide me with his response.
Thank you for your consideration and I look forward to your reply. If I can provide additional information, don't hesitate
to get in touch. Please feel free to communicate with me via e-mail.
Sincerely,

Peter M. Heimlich
3630 River Hollow Run
Duluth, GA 30096
ph: (208)474-7283
website: http://medfraud.info
blog: http://the-sidebar.com
e-mail: peter.heimlich@gmail.com
cc:
Boise City Council (% Amanda Brown)
Erwin Sonnenberg, Beki Jumonville, Office of the Ada County Coroner