Toddler declared dead after being found in pool is alive as parents could face charges
An Arizona toddler found in a backyard swimming pool earlier this year and later declared dead is still alive, police have now confirmed.
The child was discovered on 8 February by passersby in a Phoenix suburb, who pulled him from the water.
Two family members then contacted the authorities through a frantic 911 call, during which they reported a possible drowning. One relative claimed the child had been unconscious.
Two officers attended the scene at around 5.30pm, where they performed CPR on the child, a young boy, reportedly having noticed multiple signs of life.
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Despite this, the youngster was transported to the nearby Mercy Gilbert Medical Centre, where he was declared dead an hour later, after which staff placed him in a 'cold room' that usually serves as the facility's on-site morgue.
"As long as there are no objections, I’d like to call time of death," a hospital doctor, Dr Aryan Toosi, said, as per the report.
According to newly-released police documents, however, the 18-month-old boy was found breathing in the same hospital room several hours after being declared officially deceased.
The files also record Dr Toosi as having told one of the two officers who brought him in: "Please do your thing and let me do my thing. I went to medical school for a reason."
Five hours later, the officers were notified that the child was still alive, and had since been flown to another hospital to receive further treatment.
"The child ultimately survived and has been released from the hospital," the Gilbert Police Department said.
Also, following the initial incident, the child's parents were scrutinised for not having observed his whereabouts that day. Police were also quick to recommend negligence charges be brought against them.
Attending officers claimed they observed a strong smell of marijuana emanating from the family's home, and that the boy's mother and father had left one of the property's doors open that day, giving him direct access to the pool.
"Both admitted to smoking marijuana the morning of the drowning," the report added of the couple.
The case is now being reviewed by the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, which has yet to make an official comment on the matter.
Mercy Gilbert Medical Centre has since shared a statement, claiming staff conducted 'a thorough review of all aspects of the care provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care'.
Hospital staff also described the case as a 'heartbreaking situation'.
A legal representative for Dr Toosi claimed he wouldn't speak on the medic's behalf, 'other than to assure you that there is much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far'.
Rhianna Benson