Overview
- Emergency crews pulled an 18-month-old from a backyard pool and took him to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center where an attending physician pronounced him dead at about 6:20 p.m. on Feb. 8.
- Gilbert police records say the child’s parents, two officers and some nurses reported seeing or hearing gasping after the pronouncement, but the attending doctor allegedly dismissed those concerns while calling time of death.
- A Maricopa County Medical Examiner transporter found the child breathing in the hospital cold room at 11:52 p.m., the boy was airlifted to Phoenix Children’s Hospital for care and has since been released.
- Gilbert police recommended negligence or child-abuse charges for the parents, citing alleged marijuana use in the home and unsecured access to the pool, and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is reviewing that recommendation as the family prepares civil claims.
- Medical experts say mistaken pronouncements are rare, formal death checks require documented absence of pulse and breathing, and the case has prompted a hospital review and renewed scrutiny of emergency pronouncement protocols.