Here is a good cop story amidst recent negative reporting about police:
A Maryland police officer responding to a call Thursday night about a woman sobbing hysterically in a car at a shopping mall ended it with a timely rescue.
It was almost like something you’d see on TV or in a movie.
When Officer Dave Reed approached the parked car, he discovered a woman sitting hunched over on the passenger side of the car crying uncontrollably. First she tried to hide what was in her lap from him but then shifted slightly to reveal an infant which looked lifeless, WTOP reports.
The baby was wrapped in a heavy fleece blanket and when the baby’s head rolled back, “the eyes kind of rolled back in the baby’s head,” Reed explained to the station.
He could see the baby was unconscious and unresponsive. Reed used his expert training and adjusted the usual CPR procedure to accommodate the small baby. He used his two fingers to apply chest compressions and the heel of this hand to gently tap the baby’s back.
“Not hard, just enough to jolt the baby,” he said. And that’s when he heard a gasp to let him know the baby was breathing and then eventually it let out a cry.
“I knew we were good — when you can hear a baby cry, then you know you’re good,” the 12-year veteran of the Montgomery County Police Department said.
The baby was released to relatives today, and hospital officials say she will make a full recovery.
It wasn’t until Reed was at the hospital with the two when he realized the heroism of his actions and that he saved a baby.
“She looked at me with those big brown eyes and grabbed my finger. I was ready to take her home right then,” he said about the child.
The whole situation made him appreciate his own kids more, Officer Reed shared.
“Every night when I go home, I always go in and kiss them and tell them, ‘Daddy’s home safe.’ Last night, I … kind of stayed a little longer,” he said.
Awwww! *sniff* Where are the tissues?
While Reed was resuscitating the tiny infant, the child’s father returned to the car. The baby’s 21-year old mom was taking to the hospital for medical evaluation, Montgomery County Police Department revealed.
Police, Child Protective Services and the state’s Attorney’s office are investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
photo courtesy WTOP/Kate Ryan