Newborn's Life Saved By Police Officer After Baby Found Not Breathing

An Oakland Police Department officer saved the life of a newborn when he found the baby boy, who was no more than a few minutes old, was not breathing. Officer Gregory Palomo performed CPR on the baby for about a minute before the infant began breathing again, he told reporters Wednesday.

Palomo was on patrol duty Tuesday when police received reports of a woman crying and screaming for medical attention near Laney College at Sixth Street. The officer arrived at the scene and found the woman was holding a baby in the front seat of a car parked at a motel. The woman was alone with the baby. According to local reports, the woman had given birth to the baby prematurely and seconds later found the child was not breathing.

The officer reportedly took the newborn from the woman and began the life-saving procedures. He cleared the airways with a finger sweep and then gently patted between the boy’s shoulder blades to stimulate breathing, according to SFGate.

“And, thankfully, it worked,” he said, crediting his quick response to department training and watching his own children being born.

“All I could think was, I’m a father of two myself. … I just really needed to get that baby breathing,” Palomo said. “I couldn’t imagine if a parent had to lose their child at birth.”

After saving the baby, the officer handed the newborn to his mother, and instructed her to grab a blanket and hold the boy chest-to-chest to keep him warm. Within minutes, the infant stopped crying and did not face any more breathing troubles.

“I just basically took two fingers and rubbed the baby’s chest for stimulation,” Palomo said.

Both the boy and mother were later taken to a hospital where they were recovering, authorities said Wednesday.

Palomo was hailed as a hero by Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, calling him a "superstar."

This was not the first time an officer had saved the life of a baby who had stopped breathing. Last year, a Georgia officer saved the life of a 29-day-old baby after she stopped breathing.

"On Friday night, officers were dispatched to a call of a 1-month-old who was not breathing. Although Officer Eng was not the one dispatched, he knew he was closer and headed that way. After running up 3 flights of stairs, he took the newborn into his arms and began compressions. After about a minute, he heard Bella cry. She was taken to a hospital for further treatment, and doctors said the officer's actions saved baby Bella's life. We could not be more proud of Officer Eng and his heroic response! Today the officer, mother and child had a heartfelt reunion at SCMPD Headquarters," the department wrote while posting a video.