Police reports detail how an Arizona toddler was declared dead and later survived

The 157-page report, including information from several officers who responded to the 18-month-old boy's near-fatal drowning on Feb. 8, was recently released by the Gilbert Police Department.

In addition to noting the medical error, the report indicated police had recommended criminal charges against the toddler's parents on suspicion of negligence and inattentiveness.

The toddler had wandered away during a Super Bowl party at the house, with adults suddenly realizing he was missing and a frantic search ultimately leading to the backyard pool.

The police report details an alarming set of circumstances in an extraordinary case of a young child's survival. "Audible gasps" were noted by police officers after the boy had been declared dead, but their comments were brushed aside.

Police report: Lifesaving measures ended with a doctor's call

The toddler was identified in a GoFundMe page organized by the child's grandmother as Vincent Lorenzo Fiordilino.

The day started regularly, his family told police. Vincent was playful in the morning ahead of an hour-and-a-half nap from which he awoke happy, the police report said. During the party, he had been running back and forth between rooms, his grandfather told police. But then he slipped away.

Officers suspected Vincent wandered into the backyard through an open door in the garage. The pool was only partially fenced.

The boy, witnesses said, was found floating face down in the pool. Police were called at 5:34 p.m. Their reports described a harrowing scene as his father tried to resuscitate his son before a Gilbert officer took over and then let arriving firefighters make their own efforts.

Family members told officers the child may have been in the pool for 10 to 15 minutes. He was cold to the touch, did not appear to be breathing and was not conscious, the officer reported.

The child was then transported to Dignity Health Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. Resuscitation efforts continued in the emergency department. The officer, who had been assigned to go to the hospital, said he heard a nurse say, "I have a pulse."

The officer walked to another room where Dr. Aryan Toosi, an emergency medicine physician, was talking to the boy's parents and advised Toosi, according to the officer's supplemental report, dated Feb. 23.

"Toosi arrogantly told me he was the doctor, he has the medical degree, he went to medical school for a reason, and to let him do his thing," the officer wrote in a supplemental report.

Toosi walked into the room where staff members were providing CPR and lifesaving measures and ordered them to stop, citing medical reasons why he would like to call the time of death, the officer wrote. No one spoke out, his report said.

The report said Toosi declared Vincent dead at 6:20 p.m. and then requested a moment of silence for the child.

This officer and one other remained in the trauma room with the child before his body was taken to a secure cold room to await transport to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner's Office, the police report said.

At 7:18 p.m., the toddler made a sound that appeared to be an "audible gasp" that was recorded on a body-worn camera, the second officer wrote in a supplemental report. Medical staff had explained away previous gasping noises as a result of the amount of resuscitative effort and oxygen pumped into the toddler's body, the officer wrote.

The last time anyone was in the room with Vincent was 7:23 p.m., the report said.

More than four hours later, at 11:52 p.m., a hospital social worker notified the family that when a transporter from the Medical Examiner's Office arrived at the hospital to pick up Vincent, the toddler "was found to be breathing," the police report added.

Vincent was subsequently treated by hospital staff and airlifted to Phoenix Children's Hospital, according to the police report.

According to the GoFundMe update, "Despite this miracle, Vincent still faces a long and challenging recovery. He will need extensive therapy, ongoing medical monitoring, and support for his healing organs."

Hospital officials conducted 'thorough review' of a 'heartbreaking situation'

Toosi has been a licensed osteopathic physician in Arizona since 2023, according to records with the Arizona Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners. The board has no record of disciplinary actions against Toosi, whose license was last renewed Feb. 17, 2026, records show.

The records said Toosi completed his residency in emergency medicine at the University of Michigan Health, Sparrow Lansing, which is a teaching hospital that offers fellowship and residency programs in cooperation with Michigan State University.

An emailed statement from the osteopathic board would not confirm whether Toosi would face any disciplinary action connected with the incident.

"If an individual has concerns regarding the care provided by a physician, the board encourages them to file a complaint," read the statement. "Any complaint received is reviewed and evaluated to determine whether the applicable standard of care was met and whether further action is warranted under the board's authority."

Officials with the hospital would not answer specific questions about the toddler or about Toosi.

Hospital spokesperson Abby Kay sent an emailed statement that said the Feb. 8 incident was a "heartbreaking situation" and hospital officials conducted "a thorough review of all aspects of the care that was provided to learn what happened and to make meaningful changes to strengthen our care."

Dignity Health is unable to comment on the people involved in the toddler's care, hospital officials said. Citing patient privacy, Kay wrote that the hospital system would not provide any other details.

"We continue to work with the family and their representative. Patient safety and exceptional care are our highest priorities," Kay wrote.

Dignity Health Mercy Gilbert Medical Center is licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services, which conducted on-site inspections of the hospital at least twice in 2026 and found no deficiencies, according to state records. The hospital has not faced any civil penalties in the past three years, the records indicated.

Department officials did not immediately respond to a July 8 request for additional information.

How a body reacts to submersion

Declaring a drowning victim dead can be a tricky situation due to the way the body can react.

Someone who has been submerged in water may have no circulation to their extremities, may not have an obvious pulse and may be rigid in a way that is consistent with death, Phoenix emergency room physician Dr. Frank LoVecchio told The Arizona Republic in February. LoVecchio was not involved in treating Vincent, was not familiar with the case and was speaking in general terms.

"What happens when you go into water for a long time, your body is so smart that it will preserve the most important organs — the brain and the heart, and it will start to sacrifice other things like your extremities, your hands and feet," LoVecchio said.

Losing circulation to the brain for greater than four minutes could result in permanent damage, which is why the blood goes there when it's not getting a new supply of oxygen, LoVecchio said.

Medical providers use a combination of factors to declare people dead: They don't have a detectable pulse, there's no blood pressure, they aren't breathing or moving and there's no documented heart activity. But if a person has been submerged in water and their temperature is not above approximately 92 degrees Fahrenheit, providers will not "call" the death and will continue with resuscitation efforts, LoVecchio said.

A digital thermometer used in the pool’s water read 57.2 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the police report.

There are stories of children surviving submersion in exceptionally cold water for extended periods because of the protective effects of the cold. An 8-year-old boy survived being submerged in ice water for more than two hours after falling through pond ice, Pennsylvania researchers wrote Aug. 27, 2025, in a case report published in JACC Journals, which is published by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

LoVecchio said in his experience in the emergency room, health providers "try whatever we can," and if patients are not responding to interventions, including CPR, "we call it."

"And why do we call it? Why don't we just keep going? That is an easy answer. It's because, let's say I resuscitate you and you came back after having no oxygen to your brain for 20 minutes. Your prognosis is very, very low. The chance of you having no brain damage is extremely low," he said. "We don't willy-nilly just call it."

Police: 'Strong odor' of marijuana

The parents admitted to smoking marijuana the day of their son's near-drowning. A "strong odor" was detected coming from the garage, but the parents told police they did not think they were impaired, the officers' report said.

Gilbert police recommended charging the parents, alleging they exhibited criminal negligence by failing to supervise or have another supervise their son, which allowed him to enter the garage, go into the backyard and fall into the pool, the police report said.

No information was immediately available on what the Maricopa County Attorney's Office would decide to do.