Arizona toddler declared dead after near-drowning was alive for hours in ‘cold room’, records say | Arizona

A little boy who was reported dead after being discovered in a backyard pool in February was actually alive and found hours later in a room used as a hospital morgue, according to recently released police records.

Two Gilbert police officers saw possible signs of life multiple times, but the child was still treated by staff and taken to the hospital’s “cold room,” according to documents.

“Please do your own job and let me do mine,” Dr Aryan Toosi told a police officer, according to the report. “I went to medical school for a reason.”

Following the reported drowning incident, first responders were sent to the home around 17:30 on February 8. They performed life-saving measures before taking the child to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

About five hours later, police were informed that the child was indeed breathing and the child was taken to another hospital. The boy eventually survived and was released.

Gilbert police are recommending filing neglect charges against the parents. Investigators said a strong odor of marijuana was found in the home and open doors may have allowed unsupervised access to the pool. The Maricopa County district attorney’s office said it was reviewing the case and declined further comment Monday.

In 911 calls, two relatives frantically reported the child being pulled from the pool as screams from people at the scene could be heard. A caller reported that the toddler was unconscious.

Mercy Gilbert medical center, where the 18-month-old baby was taken, said in a statement that the hospital “comprehensively reviewed all aspects of the care provided to learn what happened and make meaningful changes to strengthen our care.”

The hospital described the situation as a “heartbreaking situation” and declined to provide further details.

When a team from the local medical examiner’s office arrived at what was called a cold room, they found the child breathing and took him to another hospital, police said.

Toosi’s attorney, Scott Holden, told the AP he would not make a full statement on the doctor’s behalf; “except to assure you that there is much more to this case than has been reported thus far.”

A GoFundMe page created in February to help the boy’s family with medical bills said the toddler would need extensive treatment.

“Thank you for your prayers, kindness, and support of our miracle warrior, baby Vincent,” the page reads.

ABC affiliate KNXV-TV in Phoenix was first to report the story.