A toddler in Arizona who was declared dead after being pulled from a backyard pool in February was later found alive hours afterward in a room that serves as the hospital morgue, according to recently released police records.

First responders were dispatched around 5:30 p.m. on February 8 following reports of a drowning. They performed life-saving measures on the 18-month-old child before transporting him to Mercy Gilbert Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

Despite two Gilbert police officers observing possible signs of life multiple times, the child was taken to the hospital's "cold room" after treatment, as detailed in the documents. At one point, Dr. Aryan Toosi reportedly told an officer, “Please do your thing and let me do my thing. I went to medical school for a reason.”

Investigators noted a strong odor of marijuana at the home and open doors that may have allowed unsupervised access to the pool. In 911 calls, two relatives frantically reported the child had been pulled from the pool amid audible shrieks.

Mercy Gilbert Medical Center stated it conducted "a thorough review of all aspects of the care provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care." The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is reviewing the case but declined further comment.

Scott Holden, attorney for Dr. Toosi, told the Associated Press there is "much more to this case, both factually and medically, than has been reported thus far."

San Francisco forensic pathologist Judy Melinek commented that cases of mistaken death declarations, though rare, do occur, often when breathing is very shallow or intermittent, requiring medical practitioners to wait before making a declaration.

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