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.
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