Photo: Louis.Roth / Shutterstock
It's the job.
By Emily Francos — Written on Jul 29, 2020
People are commending a police officer for saving the life of a choking baby during a protest against police brutality.
Los Angeles Sheriff's Department's Facebook page shared a post detailing a recent event where "A Palmdale Sheriff's Station deputy took swift action at a park recently when he encountered a desperate mother and her son, who was in physical distress."
"On Sunday, May 31, 2020, security camera footage captured the intense moment when two women ran frantically across a supermarket parking lot in the 3000 block of Rancho Vista Boulevard; one of them carried a limp, 11-month-old boy and stopped to administer back blows upon him," the post explained. "Moments earlier, the women were participating in a protest at the park, when the baby got sick, stopped breathing, and lost consciousness. They ran toward deputies who were across the street, monitoring the protest, to seek assistance."
Even though he was just observing the protest, the deputy jumped into action.
The post reads, "Deputy Cameron Kinsey spotted the women coming his way, ran toward them, and met them in the parking lot. An anxious mother handed her son to the deputy, who immediately recognized something was gravely wrong. Deputy Kinsey assessed the child, administered a mouth sweep with his finger, and dislodged vomit. "
In the video, you can clearly see when the baby began to breathe again because everyone's stance relaxed in relief says the post.
"Video footage shows clear relief in the posture of everyone encircling when the baby began to breathe again and regained alertness," the Facebook post describes.
Once the baby was breathing again, "Paramedics arrived shortly afterward and transported the toddler to the hospital for treatment."
At the hospital, "It was later determined the little one swallowed a coin, which lodged in his throat and blocked the airway. It was Deputy Kinsey who opened the airway with the mouth sweep procedure and turned the coin sideways, allowing air to pass through."
Despite objectively being on the other side of the protest, Kinsey, a white man, did not hesitate to start helping the African American woman and child.
Kinsey said in the Facebook post that “None of that other stuff matters. Just the baby.”
As Kinsey said, there is no racial divide when it comes to someone in an emergency. Police have taken an oath to help everyone and anyone that they come across in need.
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Emily Francos is a writer who covers relationships, pop culture, and news topics.