Overview
- An 18-month-old boy who was pulled from a backyard pool was rushed to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center and pronounced dead at about 6:20 p.m. on Feb. 8, according to police records.
- Police reports and body-worn camera footage document nurses and officers reporting a pulse, audible gasps and visible air release even after the physician declared the child dead.
- Hospital staff moved the child to the facility’s cold room and medical examiner transport personnel found him breathing just before midnight, after which he was flown to Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
- An MRI showed brain injury that will require ongoing care, Mercy Gilbert’s parent Dignity Health says it conducted an internal review, and the doctor is not facing criminal charges.
- The parents told police they had been using marijuana and not watching the child closely during a Super Bowl party, and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is reviewing possible child-abuse charges.