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<br /> <br />Policy & Procedure Page 1 of 6 <br /> <br />Lexington Police <br />Department <br />Subject: Death Scene Investigation <br /> <br /> <br />Policy Number: <br /> 42K Accreditation Standards: <br />Reference: Effective Date: <br />12/1/10 <br /> New <br /> Revised <br />Revision <br />Dates: <br />1/24/19 <br /> <br />By Order of: Mark J. Corr, Chief of Police <br /> <br /> The Municipal Police Institute, Inc. (MPI) is a private, nonprofit charitable affiliate of the <br />Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association. MPI provides training and model policies and <br />procedures for police agencies. This policy is an edited version of MPI Policy 2.09, “Dead <br />Bodies.” <br /> GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS AND GUIDELINES <br /> <br />Death can be classified into five categories: <br /> <br />1. Lawful homicide (lawful self-defense, by soldier in time of combat, etc.); <br />2. Unlawful homicide (murder, if malice is present or legally inferable, <br />manslaughter if the element of malice is not present; although <br />provocation is in no way the equivalent of justification, such as lawful self- <br />defense); <br />3. Suicide; <br />4. Accidental death; and <br />5. Natural death. <br /> <br />Although it is the function of the police to determine whether any crime may have been <br />committed which caused or contributed to the death of a human being, the medical, <br />scientific and forensic training and expertise needed to determine the cause of any <br />death necessitates that the Medical Examiner play a major role in this process. The <br />General Laws prescribe the duties and authority of the Medical Examiner in relation to <br />taking charge of the body of the deceased, conducting searches and examinations and <br />providing for the removal and disposition of the body.i In addition, the same statute <br />defines the role and responsibility of the District Attorney's office in these <br />circumstances. <br /> <br />It is the policy of the Lexington Police Department to: <br /> <br /> Preserve dead bodies until the Medical Examiner authorizes removal, preserve <br />surrounding environs for possible crime scene investigation and make all <br />appropriate notifications promptly; and <br /> Diligently pursue all appropriate investigations into criminal activity surrounding <br />a death.