NEW LONDON, Ohio — A New London Police officer is breathing a sigh of relief tonight after a big rescue for a little baby.
New London police officer Kristofor Pinkerton answered the call when a two-week old baby could barely breath and as body camera shows, he got to the scene in a matter of seconds.
Officer Pinkerton said it all started with the frantic plea from a woman who ran into the New London Police Station asking for help.
"I opened the door and she said there's a baby across the street that's blue,” said Officer Pinkerton. “I was like, what?”
The woman’s nephew, a 2 week-old baby boy was choking in a home right across the street from the police station. The only thing separating the two locations is a parking lot, which Officer Pinkerton calls, “a good thing.”
"I went in and they handed me the baby right away and I sat the baby up and started rubbing the baby's stomach and chest,” said Officer Pinkerton. “[The baby] was making some moans and very disturbing sounds, they were not good sounding so I knew I had to keep the baby alert. If I could irritate the baby, and make him mad, I guess…I know he’ll stay alert until the paramedics get there.”
He says he has CPR training and he's had to use it however, he says this situation was different.
"You can never train for this type of situation, I guess. You have to do what you think is best,” said Officer Pinkerton. “And we are really lucky because we aren't usually in the police department there, we are usually on the road, we just happened to be there so it worked out really well actually. “
The baby eventually began breathing on his own, he was taken to the hospital and is doing well.
"If you can save a life, anyone should feel good about that. I don't care what profession you are in. If you can save a life, it's worth it,” said Pinkerton. “This is just part of the job, this is what we do. We are here to help you and if we can help you, we are going to help you.”
Officer Pinkerton will be recognized for his life-saving efforts with a commendation at next Monday's council meeting.