11-593 - Arizona Statutes

11-593. Reporting of certain deaths; failure to report; classification A. Any person having knowledge of the death of a human being including a fetal death shall promptly notify the nearest peace officer of all information in the person's possession regarding the death and the circumstances surrounding it under any of the following circumstances: 1. Death when not under the current care of a physician or nurse practitioner for a potentially fatal illness or when an attending physician or nurse practitioner is unavailable to sign the death certificate. 2. Death resulting from violence. 3. Death occurring suddenly when in apparent good health. 4. Death occurring in a prison. 5. Death of a prisoner. 6. Death occurring in a suspicious, unusual or unnatural manner. 7. Death from disease or accident believed to be related to the deceased's occupation or employment. 8. Death believed to present a public health hazard. 9. Death occurring during, in association with or as a result of anesthetic or surgical procedures. 10. Unidentifiable bodies. B. The peace officer shall promptly notify the county medical examiner or alternate medical examiner and, except in deaths occurring during, in association with or as a result of surgical or anesthetic procedures from natural diseases, shall promptly make or cause to be made an investigation of the facts and circumstances surrounding the death and report the results to the medical examiner or alternate medical examiner. If there is no county medical examiner or alternate medical examiner appointed and serving within the county, the county sheriff shall be notified by the peace officer and the sheriff shall in turn notify and secure a licensed physician having the qualifications of an alternate medical examiner to perform the death investigation or to arrange for an autopsy. C. Every person who knows of the existence of a body where death occurred as specified in subsection A of this section and who knowingly fails to notify the nearest peace officer as soon as possible unless the person has good reason to believe that notice has already been given is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor. D. If the deceased was under treatment for accident or illness by prayer or spiritual means alone, in accordance with the tenets and practices of a well-recognized church or religious denomination, and death occurred without a physician or nurse practitioner in attendance, the person who has knowledge of the death shall report all information in the person's possession regarding the death and circumstances surrounding it directly to the county medical examiner or the alternate medical examiner who may waive an external examination or autopsy if the county medical examiner or alternate medical examiner is satisfied that the death of the person resulted from natural causes. E. Each county shall provide to the department of public safety fingerprints of all deceased persons for whom the circumstances of death require an external examination or autopsy and whose deaths are required to be investigated pursuant to this section. These fingerprints shall be on a form provided by the department of public safety and shall be accompanied by such other information regarding the physical description and the date and place of death as the department of public safety may require. Fingerprints taken pursuant to this section shall be used only for the purpose of purging criminal history files. All information and data in the department of public safety that are furnished in compliance with this section are confidential and may be disclosed only on written approval of the director of the department of public safety to the juvenile court, social agencies, public health and law enforcement agencies licensed or regulated by this state.