Denver firefighters suspended for asking doctor to report living woman as dead

DENVER — Two Denver firefighters were suspended without pay after allegedly asking a doctor to pronounce a living woman dead even though they had not assessed her condition.

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According to an order of disciplinary action from the Denver Department of Public Safety, firefighter Marshall Henry was helping Denver police officers on June 24 to check on the welfare of a woman who had last been heard from five days earlier, KDVR-TV reported.

Henry and Lt. Patrick Lopez went to the home after a relative of the woman called. The woman said her relative had recently undergone stomach surgery, and that it was unusual not to hear from her, according to The Denver Post.

According to the disciplinary letter, obtained by the newspaper through an open records request, Denver police Officer Eugene McComas entered the home and found the woman inside. McComas told the firefighters outside that the woman’s skin was discolored and she was leaking fluids, adding that she smelled of decomposition, the Post reported.

According to a statement from Lopez, the officers returned from the home and said, “You do not need to go inside; I don’t want any of you filling out a witness statement today. She is obviously dead,” KDVR reported.

Lopez told Henry to call the Denver Health Medical Center Emergency Department and ask for a field pronouncement of death from an emergency room doctor, KUSA-TV reported. Neither Lopez nor Henry had assessed the woman in person, according to the television station.

According to the disciplinary letter, Henry relayed the description of the woman as though he had made the observation, telling the doctor that “she is bloated and obviously dead,” the Post reported.

The doctor asked Henry if the woman had a pulse or if there were signs of trauma and the firefighter said no, according to the letter.

The doctor pronounced the woman dead, the newspaper reported.

After firefighters left the scene, McComas went back inside the home and saw the woman moving, according to the Post. The officer called the fire department and an ambulance took her to an area hospital.

According to Andrea Webber, records administrator for the state’s Department of Safety, the woman survived, the newspaper reported.

Henry reported the incident to an assistant chief on the day it happened, according to the disciplinary letter.

“The serious nature of this misconduct cannot be understated -- the patient was pronounced, though she was in fact alive, and the medical care she deserved was delayed,” Mary Dulacki, chief deputy executive director of the Denver Department of Public Safety, wrote in letters that outlined the firefighters’ misconduct.

Lopez was demoted from lieutenant to firefighter and was given a 14-shift (336-hour) suspension without pay, according to KUSA. Henry was given a 10-shift (240-hour) suspension without pay, according to the television station.

Lopez apologized for the incident in his interview with internal investigators and said he took responsibility as the highest-ranking firefighter on the scene, the Post reported.

“The integrity of the city heavily relies upon the faith and confidence of the public in its public safety services,” Dulacki wrote. “The embarrassing failure to the patient in this incident demonstrated an obvious compromise to that integrity.”

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