An 18-month-old toddler in Arizona was found alive hours after being declared dead by a physician, according to a police report. The incident began on February 8 when the child's family called police after finding him face down in a pool at their home in Gilbert, a Phoenix-area suburb.
First responders administered life-saving measures at the scene before transporting the child to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. The child was pronounced dead by a physician at 18:20 MST (00:30 GMT), approximately one hour after arriving at the hospital. Police body camera footage indicates the physician informed officers, "If there's no objections, I'd like to call time of death."
According to the report, officers had informed the physician, Dr. Aryan Toosi, that they had observed signs of life. The physician reportedly responded, "please do your thing and let me do my thing." Medical records for the child were not included in the police report, leaving uncertainty regarding the specific medical circumstances.
Several hours later, a transporter from the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office arrived at the hospital and found the child was still breathing. He was subsequently flown to a different hospital, where he recovered and has since been released.
Dr. Toosi's attorney, Scott Holden, stated that "there is much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far." Mercy Gilbert Medical Center issued a statement calling the situation "heartbreaking" and confirmed that a review of the care provided was conducted to identify areas for improvement.
Gilbert police are recommending negligence charges against the parents. Investigators noted a strong smell of marijuana at the residence, suggesting the child may have had unsupervised access to the pool. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office has not yet announced whether it will pursue charges.