Death came swiftly to Rodney Davis one night last June when he was gunned down in front of his girlfriend's house in Compton. But what happened after that was anything but hurried.

Davis' body lay in a hospital morgue for days before it was picked up by the Los Angeles County coroner's office, and an autopsy was not performed until nearly a week after he was murdered.

The wait was longer than most, but by no means unique in a department that has in recent years been plagued by autopsy delays unheard of in other major medical examiner offices around the country. Coroner's records show that during especially busy periods this year, three to five days often elapsed before an autopsy was conducted. In some cases, a week or more has gone by without the autopsy being performed.

The delays may seem of little import to a caseload that is by its nature not going anywhere. But the long, uncertain waits for release of a body add to the grief of families who are already reeling from deaths that are frequently unexpected and violent.

In addition, forensic experts warn that such lags can subtly alter autopsy results, thereby affecting police investigations. And while police seem to accept the delays as just another slowdown in Los Angeles County's overburdened criminal justice system, detectives can wait for days for crucial information in homicide cases.

For instance, in the case of a Reseda infant who died June 16 after a reported fall while in the care of a sitter, it took five days for the coroner's office to conduct an autopsy and conclude that the child's death was not accidental, but the result of being "battered by another." The sitter was subsequently arrested on murder charges.

Coroner's officials say they are working to eliminate the delays, which they blame on a daunting caseload and chronic staff shortages.

After the New York City coroner's office, the Los Angeles County Department of Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner is the second busiest in the nation. About one in four deaths in the county are referred to the office, which by law must investigate homicides, suicides, accidents and natural deaths in which the person was not seen by a physician within 20 days of death.

In 1989, the department investigated 18,000 deaths and conducted 5,804 autopsies. Every year there are more cases, an endless grim procession that keeps the office working seven days a week and lines halls with partially clad corpses waiting for a space in the crowded autopsy rooms. Some days, nearly 100 new cases flood the office.