Samantha Malone
After a premature baby came into the world without breath, two Chicago police officers jumped to action, helping to revive the unresponsive baby.
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To commend the two officers for their heroic efforts, Ogden District Field Training Officer Mark Palozzolo and new recruit Officer Maritza Bautista have been named the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation’s officers of the month, according to CBS.
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The two officers were responding to a 911 call on June 12 and, when they arrived on the scene, the infant was unresponsive in the mother’s arms. The umbilical cord was still attached and, under a dispatcher’s direction, Palozzolo pinched it shut and began performing CPR on the infant.
“The woman had just given birth during her 34th week of pregnancy,” Phil Cline, executive director of the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation said, according to CBS. “The officers found the woman inside a tiny bathroom, holding an unresponsive newborn.”
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As Palozzolo performed chest compressions and mouth to mouth, Bautista tried to comfort the mother until paramedics arrived on the scene four minutes after the officers began CPR. The baby was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where her condition was stabilized thanks to the two officers.
“We took care of that child as if it were our own,” Palozzolo told CBS.
