BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. — A South Carolina deputy's body camera shows him saving the life of a 12-day-old baby who couldn't breathe.
On June 11, Berkeley County Deputy W. Kimbro pulled over a speeding car.
What happened next was all captured on his body camera.
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The frantic driver told him that the baby in the car, Riley, had stopped breathing after drinking a bottle.
In the video, the baby appears limp as she struggles for air, and begins turning blue.
Deputy W. Kimbro Saves 12-day-old BabyWhen we wear the uniform and badge, we become what someone needs at that moment. For one Deputy that meant he needed to become the line between life and death for one young child. On June 11, a Deputy was conducting routine patrol in the unincorporated Summerville area of Berkeley County when he stopped a vehicle for speeding. What happens next was all captured on his department-issued body camera. Upon stopping the vehicle, the driver immediately exited the car and exclaimed that the baby in her vehicle had stopped breathing. Deputy W. Kimbro knew he needed to act immediately to save the baby’s life. Deputy Kimbro made contact with the 12-day-old baby and her mother in the vehicle. The mother told the Deputy the baby stopped breathing after drinking a bottle. Deputy Kimbro took the baby’s limp and cyanotic body and performed lifesaving first aid. As a result, he was able to get the baby to breathe again until EMS could arrive. Because of Deputy Kimbro’s steadfast, professional and heroic response, the 12-day old baby was able to live. Please join us in congratulating Deputy Kimbro for his gallant actions that prolonged human life. He was awarded the “Life-Saving Medal” from Sheriff Lewis for his heroic actions that day. Well done!
Posted by Berkeley County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, July 11, 2019
Kimbro laid the child on her mother’s lap and searched for a pulse, then began tapping on her chest to clear her airway and massaging her heart.
“Come on baby, cry for me. Cry for me,” the deputy says in the video. “Come on, open those eyes sweetheart.”
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Seconds later, the breakthrough came as the baby starts to cry.
“There we go. As long as she's crying like that, she's breathing,” Kimbro said.
The deputy kept working on Riley for another five minutes until paramedics arrived.
The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, which awarded Kimbro a life-saving medal for his heroic actions, said the baby is alive and healthy.
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