Item #4 APD Victims Services Death Notifications Presentation — original pdf

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Death Notifications Austin Police Department Victim Services Role of the Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office (TCME) The TCME is responsible for the investigation and certification of cause and manner of death of all sudden, unexpected, violent, suspicious, or unnatural deaths that occur in Travis County. The cause of death is a disease, injury, drug toxicity, or combination of factors that causes a physiologic derangement severe enough to result in death. The manner of death refers to the circumstances surrounding how the death came about and is divided into five categories: natural, accident, suicide, homicide, and undetermined. TCME also investigates similar deaths occurring in 43 Texas counties at the written request of the local authorities. -From TCME website (see also TCCP 49.25) 2 2 Who is considered Legal Next of Kin in Texas? The TCME’s Office is responsible for notifying the legal next of kin in most situations, in collaboration with APD Victim Services. Order of notification:  Spouse  Adult children  Parents  Adult siblings Note: The emergency contact listed on a driver’s license is NOT automatically contacted on APD cases. 3 3 Victim Services (VS) may Be Requested to assist with notifying next of kin in the following situations: • Deaths occurring in Austin (includes parts of Williamson and Hays County, but primarily in Travis County) at homes or in the community. • Hospital deaths (typically, hospital social workers handle notifications, but VS may respond if officers are also responding, such as for an accident, collision, violence, or suicides). • Hospice deaths, ONLY if 911 is called and police respond (often, Hospice social workers take the lead in managing these cases). • Requests from other agencies for out-of-office cases when the next of kin is believed to reside in Austin (received via teletype). 4 4 How Notification Requests are Initiated: • TCME pages VS Crisis Response Team via APD Communications once they identify the • APD Dispatch pages VS when requests come from another jurisdiction via teletype. • Detectives (Homicide, Vehicular Homicide, Cold Case, or Special Investigations Unit) • Dispatch may contact the person who called in a welfare check for updates, potentially allowing for tentative notifications. • VS may identify and locate next of kin while on scene (e.g., assisting a witness in a decedent. pages VS directly. traffic fatality). 5 5 Information to have before making notification (ideally): • Full name and date of birth of the decedent. • Date, time, location, and manner of death (if known). • Method of identification (fingerprints, dental records, ID). • Any identifying characteristics (tattoos, scars, etc.). • Name, relationship, and contact details of next of kin (VS can request help from the Real Time Crime Center) and conduct APD database searches for relevant information. 6 6 VS Counselors Considerations: • Aim to notify in person when possible. • An officer will accompany VS counselor for safety and legitimacy. • VS counselor will consider potential responses if a security camera is present (the person may not be home but could call police). • If in-person notification isn’t feasible, phone notification is acceptable with awareness of the recipient's situation (e.g., are they driving? Alone?). • Information will be relayed to the next shift if the VS counselor’s shift is ending, including any messages requesting callbacks. 7 7 Additional considerations: • For deaths in Williamson or Hays County within APD jurisdiction, the TCME is not automatically involved; a Justice of the Peace responds. APD is responsible for notifications in these situations, consulting with the on-call Homicide detective if no next of kin is present. • For homicide or suspicious death cases, VS must confirm with the detective before notifying anyone, including next of kin. VS is advised to verify with the detective regarding what information is appropriate to share. • VS should NOT make notifications solely at the direction of an officer or anyone other than the ME or a detective (or higher rank). Rushed notifications can lead to misinformation or jeopardize investigations. 8 8 Delays in notification to Legal Next of Kin May Occur Due To: • Inability to identify the decedent immediately. • Inability to identify and/or make contact with next of kin. • Two legal next of kin (e.g., divorced parents) and notifying both simultaneously may not be feasible (although every effort is made to do so). • Availability of VS personnel to make the notification. 9 9 Austin Police Department Questions?