Question for a cop (film scene)

[michaelcp4]

Hey guys,

I'm animating a scene with a police officer who arrives on scene to find a dead body in a motel bed. I'm wondering how the cop would react in the moment, and what steps he'd take, including what he would say on the radio and how he'd secure the room... check the victim... anything. The victim is clearly decomposing.

You don't have to be a cop to answer, but I just wanted to make the scene to be as realistic as possible. I don't want someone watching to be groaning because it's obviously incorrect.

 

[Zer]

This dead body, is she hot?

 

[Josh]

If the body is decomposing, he won't even touch it. He'll radio it in. I'm in EHS, and we call them Code 4's. If there is any suspicion of foul play he would call in a CSU and/or supervisor/detectives. If there is no suspicion of foul play, he'll call the coroner or whoever is responsible for removal of the body. Then he'll get started on witness statements, securing the scene, etc. If it's not a crime scene, he'll probably look for a way to ID the body, whether that's by finding a wallet on the corpse or somewhere in the room. Sometimes they'll call EHS to verify the death, even when it's hella obvious, although that's rare.

 

[MC Paul Barman]

Well....
first the cop is supposed to shoot a few shots at the body 'just to make sure' (Milwaukee Cop Manuel, Page 173, Paragraph 182).
Protocol also dictates that the cop is supposed to either 1) put his hand over his nose to block out the scent of the corpse, or 2) wave his hand frantically in front of his face while bellowing "Ohhhhh yuck!.... You've got to come in here and see this."

Quick side note.... cops twirl their guns as they're walking to and from their car. You want to spot a fake cop? Watch what he's doing with his gun. If it's just sitting in his holster.... red flag. No one is going to buy that. It doesn't need to be an artistic gun twirl. I can be casual, something you'd do while whistling.

 

[MC Paul Barman]

If the body is decomposing, he won't even touch it. He'll radio it in. I'm in EHS, and we call them Code 4's. If there is any suspicion of foul play he would call in a CSU and/or supervisor/detectives. If there is no suspicion of foul play, he'll call the coroner or whoever is responsible for removal of the body. Then he'll get started on witness statements, securing the scene, etc. Sometimes they'll even call EHS to verify the death, even when it's hella obvious, although that's rare.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.....

Do what Josh says and you're going to have the audience walking out of the theater (theatre).

"Code 4"?! That's just gibberish. No one actually does jargon speak on the job. They spell it out. They spell it out like they were describing the scene to a 5th grader.

 

[Gawd]

Well....
first the cop is supposed to shoot a few shots at the body 'just to make sure' (Milwaukee Cop Manuel, Page 173, Paragraph 182).
Protocol also dictates that the cop is supposed to either 1) put his hand over his nose to block out the scent of the corpse, or 2) wave his hand frantically in front of his face while bellowing "Ohhhhh yuck!.... You've got to come in here and see this."

Quick side note.... cops twirl their guns as they're walking to and from their car. You want to spot a fake cop? Watch what he's doing with his gun. If it's just sitting in his holster.... red flag. No one is going to buy that. It doesn't need to be an artistic gun twirl. I can be casual, something you'd do while whistling.

Please post some more gems from the Milwaukee cop manual.

 

[CardonaLJ**]

Please post some more gems from the Milwaukee cop manual.

Yes. I gotta know what other protocols they have.

 

[MC Paul Barman]

M.C.M. Page 15, Paragraph 9:

"Pistol whipping is not to be used as a display of mockery. If you're going to pistol whip.... fine, pistol whip. But this should be done with as little theatrics as possible. Besides, most theatrics are lost on a kneeling perp, whose hands are already cuffed behind his back and whose head is probably already ringing from the initial (read: reflexive) pistol whip that dropped him in the first place."

 

[MusclesMarinara]

You take off your hat with your left hand.
Rub your face with your right.
Let out a thoughtful sigh.
Then make the sign of the cross.

 

[m25105]

Who ever the victim was, he was one week short of retiring.

 

[edco76]

If he is black you will need to sprinkle some crack on him.


Most PD's still use ten codes. In which case the proper code would be a 10-89.


With signs of obvious death it may go something like this.

642 (or whatever the cops number is) we have a 10-89 at 123 Dead Street. Have detectives (if he is a patrolman) and coroner en route.

He would then do a quick sweep looking for obvious signs of foul play, more bodies, or anyone else being on scene.

Once the immediate scene is cleared for dangers he will step out, secure the scene and canvas for witnesses.

 

[Doughbelly]

Hey guys,

I'm animating a scene with a police officer who arrives on scene to find a dead body in a motel bed. I'm wondering how the cop would react in the moment, and what steps he'd take, including what he would say on the radio and how he'd secure the room... check the victim... anything. The victim is clearly decomposing.

You don't have to be a cop to answer, but I just wanted to make the scene to be as realistic as possible. I don't want someone watching to be groaning because it's obviously incorrect.

Visibly decomposing in a motel room? What did he do, pay three days in advance and hung up the do not disturb sign?

 

[michaelcp4]

Visibly decomposing in a motel room? What did he do, pay three days in advance and hung up the do not disturb sign?

Good point. That would have been a dumb mistake. Has to be freshly deeud.

 

[michaelcp4]

Most PD's still use ten codes. In which case the proper code would be a 10-89.


With signs of obvious death it may go something like this.

642 (or whatever the cops number is) we have a 10-89 at 123 Dead Street. Have detectives (if he is a patrolman) and coroner en route.

He would then do a quick sweep looking for obvious signs of foul play, more bodies, or anyone else being on scene.

Once the immediate scene is cleared for dangers he will step out, secure the scene and canvas for witnesses.

That's great. thanks man.

 

[michaelcp4]

If it's not a crime scene, he'll probably look for a way to ID the body, whether that's by finding a wallet on the corpse or somewhere in the room. Sometimes they'll call EHS to verify the death, even when it's hella obvious, although that's rare.

So if he's been shot or stabbed, the officer would avoid touching anything? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks again

 

[Josh]

So if he's been shot or stabbed, the officer would avoid touching anything? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks again

If he's not obviously dead (still warm) the cop should start CPR and call for EHS. If he's been dead more than a few hours the cop should be able to tell, and he won't touch him.

 

[edco76]

Good point. That would have been a dumb mistake. Has to be freshly deeud.

Yeah, it takes a while for decomp. The 5 signs of obvious death are

Decapitation
Decompisition
Lividity
Rigidity
Burned beyond recognition

Without any of those things the responding officer is probably going to check pulses, start CPR, and request paramedics

If they need to be "fresh" but non traumatic, I would go with lividity (blood pooling)

It only takes about 15 minutes to start. Its based on gravity so the timeline and body position would decide how purple they are.

 

[weed]

 

[Ijedi]

Josh nailed it -not much more I can add...

 

[chanwahyaoh]

The officer would call in half of the police department who would all arrive on the scene. However, none of them would step foot into the room with the body.

The forensic blood splatter analyst will arrive about 20 minutes later. He will be the first one to walk into the room. The blood splatter analyst will notice a gigantic mural of himself painted on the wall in the room and destroy the face part of it.

This is what happens all the time.