A police body camera captured the moment two officers saved the life of a two-month-old girl who was choking on milk.
Officers Ryan Sidders and Alex Oklander rushed to help the baby, who had stopped breathing, after noticing her mother in distress at the roadside in Ohio. They had pulled up behind her car after spotting its hazard warning lights blinking.
“We pull up behind the car; we saw a female exit the car, run to the passenger rear door and appear to be in some distress,” Mr Sidders told Fox 8 Cleveland.
In the footage, Mr Oklander is seen pulling the baby out of her car seat as his partner is heard saying “she’s choking”.
Mr Oklander added: “The baby had what seemed to be milk coming out of her mouth and nose. That’s when we administered the back thrusts.”
The video shows him holding the girl face down and gently patting her on the back as Mr Sidders issues instructions.
‘”At an angle, at a 45 degree angle,’ the officer is heard saying.
After several attempts he manages to clear the baby’s airway.
Her mother Tamica Pruitte thanks the officers after they tell her the girl, Tyra, is breathing again.
“Having kids, you never want that to happen to any person, let alone a child, especially a baby that is two months old,” said Mr Oklander.
The officers noted how lucky they were to have passed Ms Pruitte’s car.
“We could have easily backed up another officer at a different part of the city,” Mr Sidders said. “We might have been there two, three minutes later and when someone isn’t breathing, two or three minutes is life or death.”
