Dad charged in daughter’s near drowning

Jen Lawson

Tuesday, May 3, 2005 | 10:59 a.m.

A 35-year-old Las Vegas father has been charged with felony child endangerment because he fell asleep after taking his 2-year-old daughter into a swimming pool where she nearly drowned, Metro Police said.

When Kenneth Neil Kirkpatrick awakened April 11 at the pool in the condominium complex on Willow Tree Drive near U.S. 95 and Summerlin Parkway, his daughter was floating face-down in the water, police said.

After completing their investigation into the near drowning, authorities issued an arrest warrant for Kirkpatrick on Friday. He had not yet been taken into custody as of Monday afternoon.

Thirty-nine incidents of children 14 and under being submerged in water occurred in 2004, Jennifer Sizemore, spokeswoman for the Clark County Health District, said, the lowest number of incidents on record.

Of those, four were fatal.

A handful of parents were charged criminally in connection with the four drownings and 35 near drownings in Clark County in 2004, but in most cases the incidents were judged to be tragic accidents and no charges were filed, District Attorney David Roger said.

But in this case, Roger said Kirkpatrick's alleged behavior was more reckless.

"He knows a 2-year-old can't swim and he allegedly dozes off," he said.

According to a police report, Kirkpatrick told officers he was sitting on the steps in the shallow end of the pool holding his daughter Madison, who was grasping a long Styrofoam "noodle" flotation device, when he dozed off.

He said he wasn't sure how long he was asleep, but when he woke up he found her floating with her face submerged in the water, police said.

Kirkpatrick said he yelled for someone to call 911, and when officers arrived, a crowd had gathered and he was holding his daughter, who was vomiting, according to the police report.

Madison suffered respiratory failure and was placed on a ventilator at University Medical Center's pediatric intensive care unit, police said.

She regained consciousness four days later, on April 15, and was removed from the ventilator. A doctor told police it was too early to determine if she suffered brain damage.

When asked how Kirkpatrick fell asleep in a pool while holding a child, Lisa Teele, supervisor for Metro's abuse and neglect detail, said, "Obviously, there were some concerns there."

However, Rebecca Kirkpatrick, the girl's mother, spoke to her estranged husband at the hospital and he allegedly told her he fell asleep while sitting in a chair, according to the police report.

Detectives submitted the case to the district attorney's office, recommending that he face criminal charges.

According to police, Kenneth Kirkpatrick was arrested for domestic violence in July 2004 after allegedly choking his daughter's mother. They are currently going through a divorce, police said.

This was the fourth incident this year to date of a child submerged in water, officials said.

The most recent incident was Sunday, when police said 2-year-old Reymundo Reyes drowned in a relative's pool near Sahara and Eastern avenues.

Police said relatives noticed the little boy was missing from the room where he was taking a nap, and found him dead in the backyard swimming pool. The coroner's office ruled the death an accidental drowning, and no criminal charges have been filed. Police are continuing their investigation.

In 2003 there were 42 total submersion cases involving children in Clark County, and 10 children died. The number of incidents for 2004 was the lowest on record, Sizemore said, which she hopes could be attributed to greater awareness about pool safety.

"Parents need to be aware of their children at all times," she said. "With small children, some may not be able to open a door or gate and the next day they can."

"One misconception is the child is going to make a lot of noise and splash around, but that isn't necessarily the case."