The 11-44 police code means a person at the scene is deceased and a coroner or medical examiner is needed. Officers and dispatchers use it to communicate a fatality quickly over the radio, which shifts the call from a medical emergency to a death investigation and triggers a different set of notifications than any other type of response.
What Officers Are Actually Saying
An 11-44 does two jobs in one transmission. It tells other officers the nature of what they’re responding to, and it requests that the coroner’s office be dispatched. That dual function matters because a death scene follows different protocols than an injury scene, and delays in notifying the right people can compromise an investigation.
The exact wording varies by agency. Some departments define 11-44 as “deceased person.” The California Highway Patrol’s glossary lists it as “possible fatality.” The practical effect is the same: the call is no longer about saving a life, and the coroner’s office takes jurisdiction over the body.
One thing worth knowing up front: police codes are not universal. A number that means one thing in Los Angeles might mean something different in Atlanta, or might not be used at all. Even neighboring cities sometimes assign different meanings to the same code. The 11-44 designation for a fatality is one of the more consistent entries across agencies that use the 11-series, which developed in California and other Western states as a supplement to the better-known APCO 10-codes. Outside those agencies, you shouldn’t assume the number carries the same meaning.
When the Code Gets Used
Officers transmit an 11-44 any time they encounter or confirm a death in the field. The most common situations include arriving at a severe traffic collision where a victim is already dead, discovering a body during a welfare check, responding to a shooting or stabbing where the victim didn’t survive, and encountering a natural death at a home where no doctor was present.
Less obvious scenarios also qualify. A hiker finding remains on a trail, a landlord entering a unit after a tenant hasn’t been seen for days, or a construction crew uncovering bones during excavation can all lead to an 11-44 once officers arrive and assess what they’re looking at. The trigger isn’t the cause of death. It’s the fact of it.
What Happens After the Call
Once an 11-44 goes out, the scene becomes a death investigation. The body cannot be touched or moved by anyone without permission from the coroner or medical examiner. Law enforcement secures the scene and its physical evidence. The coroner’s office takes jurisdiction over the body itself and anything in direct contact with it.
Who responds depends on where you are, and the distinction between a coroner and a medical examiner is larger than most people assume. A coroner is typically an elected official who may have no medical training at all. A medical examiner is an appointed physician, usually board-certified in forensic pathology, who can perform autopsies and integrate findings from the scene and the laboratory. Some jurisdictions use one system, some the other, and some use a hybrid in which a coroner oversees the office while a medical examiner conducts the examinations.1NCBI Bookshelf. Comparing Medical Examiner and Coroner Systems
A forensic investigator from the responding office documents the scene and collects information about the circumstances of death. The body is then transported to the facility for examination, which may include a full autopsy. The coroner or medical examiner ultimately determines the cause and manner of death, and that determination becomes the official record.
If You’re the One Who Found the Body
If you discover a dead body, you are generally required to notify law enforcement or the coroner’s office immediately. Most states have statutes making it a crime to fail to report a death, and many also prohibit moving the body or removing anything from it before authorities arrive. Penalties vary by jurisdiction and range from misdemeanors to felonies depending on whether the failure to report appeared intentional.
Call 911. Don’t touch anything. Stay nearby to speak with officers when they arrive. If you witnessed anything relevant, tell them directly.
Why You May Hear Plain English Instead
Codes like 11-44 are losing ground to plain language, and the push is coming from the federal level. The National Incident Management System requires plain language during any multi-agency or multi-jurisdiction event, including major disasters and training exercises. Starting in fiscal year 2006, federal preparedness grants became contingent on agencies using plain language in incidents involving responders from different organizations.2FEMA. NIMS and Use of Plain Language
The reasoning is practical. When a city police officer, a county sheriff’s deputy, and a federal agent are all working the same scene, a code that means “deceased person” to one agency might mean something else to another. Plain language removes that risk. The NIMS mandate doesn’t abolish codes for everyday department operations, though. An officer radioing their own dispatch can still say “11-44” without jeopardizing federal funding.2FEMA. NIMS and Use of Plain Language
In practice, you’ll still hear 11-44 on local police scanners. During large-scale incidents involving multiple agencies, you’re more likely to hear an officer say “we have a fatality” in plain English.
Related Codes for Context
The codes immediately around 11-44 deal with whether medical help is needed at a scene. The 11-40 asks whether an ambulance is required, 11-41 confirms one is needed, 11-42 confirms one isn’t, and 11-44 confirms the person is dead and the coroner is needed instead. That progression is what makes the sequence easier to follow on a scanner than a list of numbers suggests.