Page 89 - Once a copper 10 03 2020

“PC Bennett is a well turned out officer with intelligence. He is anxious to learn and is
not afraid to ask for advice. His paperwork and reports are good in content. He has
involved himself in good arrests and has a good return in process. What is pleasing is
that this officer goes out on patrol with the intention of looking for and finding work,
rather than waiting for work to come to him. With more experience, I have no doubt
that he will develop into a good working Police Officer”.

These sentiments, from a Leader I admired and looked up to, were a huge
boost to my confidence.

Doctor Death

Early in my operational police service on D Unit, whilst chatting
over a cup of tea in the controllers’ office one day, one of the
units were sent to a sudden death. I happened to make the
innocent comment that I’d never seen a dead body.

‘Sudden death’ is a police term for any death which requires some form of
police action. It may not be sudden at all. The deceased may have been ill
for some time, but because of circumstances, such as an elderly person living
alone who has not been seen by a doctor for a considerable period, some
enquiry is necessary. There are some occasions where circumstances might
suggest that perhaps the death was not as natural or accidental as it first
appears.

As the first officer at the scene, the primary objectives are the protection of
life. This means an officer doing all they could to keep a person alive and not
to assume death. In cases where even the slightest doubt exists, we were
instructed to call an ambulance. Only a doctor and, in some areas a
qualified paramedic are eligible to state that a person is dead. Police
Officers do not have the power to pronounce that life is extinct, even when
circumstances make it abundantly obvious. We were to call our control room
and request a doctor be called to the scene. Usually this would be the Police
Surgeon on duty at that time.

After death is confirmed the doctor would indicate if they are prepared to
issue a death certificate stating the cause of death. In cases when a doctor
issues a death certificate, the police involvement with the death would
officially end. If the doctor has never treated the deceased or is unable to
pinpoint cause of death with any degree of certainty, we were to inform our
control room, so that supervisory officers and/or the coroner’s officer were
made aware of the situation and kept informed.

As the first officer to a sudden death, it was would be our responsibility to
note all the circumstances of the scene. We would have to gain an early
indication of whether the death was suspicious, check the body for signs of
bruising and check if there are any signs of a struggle in the room. Page89