Mich. Officer Saves Baby Who Stopped Breathing During Traffic Stop: 'Nothing Short of Heroic'
A Warren Police Officer administered first aid to an 18-month-old boy who was in a speeding Camaro with relatives
CBS News
A Michigan police officer saved a baby who stopped breathing at a traffic stop on Aug. 29, as captured on video footage.A Michigan police officer helped save a baby's life during a routine traffic stop Tuesday.
The incident was captured on dash and bodycam video, Fox affiliate WJBK reported. Police Officer Brendan Fraser spotted a black Camaro speeding about 75-80 miles per hour — well above the 45-mile-per-hour speed limit.
When he caught up with the Camaro, Fraser saw an 18-month-old boy with his mother, while his uncle was behind the driver’s seat of the car. Police said the baby was not breathing and turning blue, per MLive.com, which also reported the car was en route to a hospital.
"Help, help, we got a baby in here dying," the driver said, per the outlet.
Fraser took the baby and immediately administered first aid, as video footage showed. A panicked voice could be heard saying to the officer, “No, please, don’t take him!”
Taking action, the officer said he "administered a few back blows" to clear the boy's airway, per WJBK.
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"It was a big relief, for sure," the officer said per CBS affiliate WWJ-TV. "When the child started breathing and you saw the color come back around its lips.".
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Additional police appeared on the scene and the baby was transported to a local hospital, per The Detroit News. Authorities said the infant was released from the hospital and is back home with his family.
"Officer Fraser’s actions on this traffic stop are nothing short of heroic," Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer said in a statement, as reported by The Detroit News. "This incident shows that police work and traffic stops are not always about writing tickets or making arrests."
Dwyer further added: "In this case, what started off as a traffic stop for speeding resulted in Officer Fraser saving a child’s life. Officer Fraser relied on his training, communication skills, and compassion as he worked to resuscitate the child."
In an interview with ABC affiliate WXYZ-TV, Fraser described looking back at the footage of the rescue as overwhelming, “but at the end of the moment there’s really not much thought other than just relying on the training that we received.”
As for his advice to parents who experience a similar situation, Fraser told the outlet that they should call 911 even if they live near a hospital since dispatchers know what to do and paramedics will arrive on the scene.
PEOPLE reached out to the Warren Police Department for further comment.
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