Police Intelligence

[Gob]

When police pulled a headless body from a river, you would not have thought it needed a doctor to confirm the person was dead.


But there are rules and procedures to follow. And a medic was duly called in to declare that the man in question was actually ‘life extinct’. Yesterday a coroner expressed surprise at why a doctor was summoned. ‘Even though there was no head, and the maggots, you had to call him in?’ Dr Shirley Radcliffe asked Det Insp Chuk Gwams. The officer replied: ‘Yes Ma’am. They are the experts, we are not.’
The inquest heard that police were called to the River Wandle in Wimbledon, South-West London, last June. Two Environment Agency contractors clearing Japanese knotweed from the bank had discovered the headless corpse floating in the water.It was so badly decomposed, it was impossible to establish how the person had died.

And it was only through DNA tests that police identified him as Polish national Waldemar Drobig, 32, a former baker who slept rough and had previously been arrested for petty theft. Mr Drobig was born in Sunechow, Poland, and was married with one son, although at the time of his death he had lost contact with his family. 'The area he was found in, a ledge under a bridge, in summer time is where the local street drinkers tend to congregate,' Det Insp Gwams said.

Recording an open verdict at Westminster coroner’s court yesterday, Dr Radcliffe said: ‘The cause of death in uncertain.
‘It is not possible to rule out foul play one hundred per cent.’


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1KCrOyjzK

[The Hen]

Tee hee.

[Crackpot]

Why shouldn't it be possible to live without head? I mean they're living without using theirs.

[loCAtek]

dailymail.co, 'nuff said.

[The Hen]

dailymail.co, 'nuff said.

Which means what in this case, Lo?

Was Dr Radcliffe or the policeman lying? Did this not happen?

[loCAtek]

Was it not a homicide, and was the cause of death uncertain.

How else do you take off your own head?

[The Hen]

The story is about why a doctor was summoned to record that the body was dead.

Dr Radcliffe's role was not to establish the cause of death, simply that the man was dead.

The man didn't have a head. I really don't think a doctor's opinion on whether he was alive was needed.

Perhaps if you spent a little longer reading ....

[Crackpot]

Animals? Injury? Decomposition? THey said the cause of death could not be ascertained which means the lack of a head could not (at the time) be in any way be attributed to his death.

[Sean]

dailymail.co, 'nuff said.

Which means what in this case, Lo?

Was Dr Radcliffe or the policeman lying? Did this not happen?

Every band needs a wagon...

[loCAtek]

Animals? Injury? Decomposition? THey said the cause of death could not be ascertained which means the lack of a head could not (at the time) be in any way be attributed to his death.

Agreed, meaning a specialist, usually a doctor, can only legally declare a person dead. (obvious circumstances regardless) Otherwise, you run afoul of all sorts of false 'death certificates' for purposes of identity theft, insurance fraud and/or inheritance scams, etc.

[Rick]

If it was just for a pronouncement it seems as though the body could have traveled to the doc instead of the converse.

But then I wasn't there, of course neither was his head...

[loCAtek]

Police procedure is: bodies are not to be moved from the crime scene until pronounced dead or alive. Declaring you alive, can be done at almost any level; you can do it yourself(I'm not dead!); being dead has to be confirmed by a doctor.

[The Hen]

Lo if that is police procedure in the UK then the coroner would NOT have been surprised that the police called in a doctor to declare the body was ‘life extinct’.

If you would care to research the UK system you will find that it is not only doctors that can pronounce a body "life extinct".

Here is a useful UK document on declaring who can declare a person "life extinct", (which is probably why the coroner was so surprised they called the doctor in for the pronouncement before the body was taken away for an autopsy to determine the cause of death).

[loCAtek]

The latest by US laws

[Sean]

Amazingly Wimbledon does not fall under US jurisdiction.



Can a womble sign a death cert then?

[The Hen]

Your laws are not relevant to this thread Lo. You made a palaver about this being a Daily Mail story for no reason.

The reasons you have given do not have legs and are of no consequence to this story.

[The Hen]

A womble COULD pronounce the headless man was life extinct if he was qualified in the Ambulance service or, EMT, a paramedic or a nurse. (Though it wouldn't be common.)

Nurse Orinoco anyone?

[Sean]

Hmmm... I do think that Uncle Bulgaria should be treated as a suspect. Maybe he caught the guy dropping litter and lost it.

Feral wombles are fucking dangerous!



Tonight on Fox, 'When Wombles go Bad'...

[loCAtek]

So, it's only of interest to the UK and it's commonwealth? my bad. Thought this was an international site....

[The Hen]

You, naturally, may participate. Just try reading the article and being relevant.

The fact that this was a Daily Mail article is irrelevant in this case as are any US laws, and procedures.

But really, isn't the whole point of this thread (in "Laffs" I might remind you) that it was ludicrous for ANYONE to be required to declare the headless body "life extinct".

I assure you that no-one is preventing anyone from participating here and it is not a Board for the Commonwealth participants.



So am I to take it you are trying out for the position of resident troll on Plan B?

Fairy nuff. I guess we didn't have one.

: )