10-108 - Death Determination

10-108 - Death Determination

  • Summary: Guidelines for officers in confirming a death, securing the scene, and coordinating with medical personnel and investigators.
  • Effective Date: 07-17-2001
  • See other versions

Policy

The primary responsibility of an officer in any situation is to take all steps necessary to preserve life. Except when a person is obviously deceased, it shall be the responsibility of a physician or Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel to determine if death has occurred. EMS shall be requested at the scene of an apparent death unless a physician is present or there is not even a remote possibility that the person is alive.

 

Definitions

Refer to the Commonly Used Terms page for general definitions.


Document History:

Title Effective Date Revision Type Download
10-108 - Death Determination 07-17-2001 download PDF

Revision Types and Descriptions

  • New: Policy had been added.
  • Combined: Two or more policies were merged.
  • Definitions Update: A glossary definition was updated.
  • Terms Update: A term, not necessarily tied to the glossary, was updated in the Manual.
  • Edited - Major: Significant content or procedural changes.
  • Edited - Minor: Small edits, clarifications, or formatting changes.
  • Renamed: Policy title changed.
  • Renumbered: Policy number was changed.
  • Split: Single policy was divided into multiple.
  • Eliminated: Policy was removed and is no longer in effect.
  • PRH Implementation: Edits for the Policy and Resource Hub; no content changes.