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Two Denver firefighters were suspended after wrongly declaring a woman dead, according to Denver Post.
Lieutenant Patrick Lopez and firefighter Marshall Henry responded to a home on June 24 to assist Denver Police with a welfare check, according to a Denver Department of Public Safety (DDPS) disciplinary letter obtained by reporters. Officer Eugene McComas went inside and found the woman with bluish-purple discoloration on her skin, fluid leaking from her body, and the smell of decomposition.
Lopez then told his crew they didn't need to go inside because the woman appeared deceased, per the letter. He then instructed Henry to call Denver Health for a field pronouncement of death from an emergency room doctor, even though neither of them assessed the woman.
Henry described the woman as “bloated and obviously dead" to the doctor, according to the letter. When the doctor asked Henry if she had a pulse or if there were signs of trauma, he reportedly said no, despite not checking her himself. The doctor later declared the woman dead.
The firefighters eventually left but McComas stuck around to check the home for weapons. While he was searching, the cop noticed the woman moving and called Denver Fire and EMS back to the scene. She was later taken to the hospital and survived, DDPS records administrator Andrea Webber confirmed to reporters.
According to the order, Henry notified the district chief and an EMS educator about his mistake while Lopez told his superior. The investigation implies Lopez possibly lied to his supervisors to pin the blame on McComas, who denied telling the Denver firefighters not to go inside.
Lopez was demoted by two ranks to firefighter and given a 14-shirt (336-hour) suspension without pay. Henry was given a 10-shift (240-hour) suspension without pay.