Lexington,KY-"Mistakes were made and we are here to accept responsibility and not make excuses," acknowledged Lexington Police Chief Ronnie Bastin in an afternoon press conference at police headquarters concerning the case of Umi Southworth, who was found behind her home in the Meadowthorpe neighborhood on the evening of June 9, badly beaten and assumed dead.
"The most serious mistake was the improper assessment of the presence of life in Mrs. Southworth," said Bastin. "Another mistake was the lack of timely notification of the Coroner," he added.
Bastin said officers arrived on the scene for a health and welfare check at 6:29 p.m. Mrs. Southworth was found beneath bushes behind her home at 7:45 p.m. It was not until 11:07 p.m. when an Emergency Care Unit was requested after it was discovered that although severely injured, Mrs. Southworth was still alive. According to Coroner Gary Ginn, who was not notified until 9:06 p.m. and arrived at 9:35 p.m., the nature of the scene was such that he had no reason to assume Mrs. Southworth could possibly remain alive. Others close to the case who have seen photos of the crime scene independently corroborated Ginn's assessment.
Asked if he believes Mrs. Southworth might have survived had she received treatment sooner, Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Larson responded by saying he is confident that the crime scene activities of that evening will not impede prosecution of her attacker.
Chief Bastin convened a review of the case earlier today attended by Mayor Jim Newberry, Fire Chief Robert Hendrix, Public Safety Commissioner Tim Bennett, Asst. County Attorney Brian Mattone, Fire Dept. Medical Director, Dr. Joe Richardson, Larson, Ginn and Dr. Gary Cordner, a Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) representative. An outcome of those discussions, Chief Bastin said, are changes in policies and procedure when police are called to crime scenes involving injury or death.
"The first responsibility of all personnel responding to any scene that involves sick/injured persons or apparent deaths remains and shall always be the preservation of life. The first officer on the scene is responsible for immediately requesting Emergency Care and rendering medical aid appropriate to their training and ability until relieved by medical or other Division personnel.
After ensuring appropriate medical care for all victims, the first officer on scene is responsible for the preservation and initial documentation of the crime scene," he continued." The preservation of life will always take priority over efforts to locate, secure and document evidence."
Chief Bastin announced that effective immediately, the Division of Fire will be responsible for pronouncing death and will also assume responsibility for notification of the coroner.
"The person responsible for this brutal crime is still at large and we are working diligently to solve this crime," he said.