Rookie NYPD cops save choking baby in nerve-racking footage
Nerve-racking bodycam footage shows the moment two quick-thinking rookie NYPD cops saved a baby boy from choking to death inside his Queens home. The footage shows the officers jumping into action to save 10-month-old Makai — who’s wearing police-car pajamas — after they were called to his family’s home in North Corona at around 4:40 p.m. on Oct. 10. The two responding cops found Makai “in an unresponsive state due to an obstruction in his breathing passage,” police said. Footage shows the tot’s mom hand over the child who was choking and vomiting to an officer, who pats Makai on the back until the blockage is cleared. Another officer then picked up the infant – who was alert and moving – gently talked to him and rubbed his back, the video shows. The tiny Makai was then placed on a stretcher inside an ambulance and was taken to the Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he was listed in stable condition. The child’s mom, Asia Rodriguez, told WABC called 911 when she suddenly realized the baby was in distress. “He’s my life and I’m going to make sure every second counts and make sure I save him,” she told the outlet. Now, with Makai back home and doing well, Rodriguez said she hopes to have the opportunity to thank the two members of New York’s Finest who saved her son’s life. “If I could see them, if they could come to my house directly and I could shake their hands and hug them, I would hug them,” she told WABC. “God bless them. I hope that whatever blessings they could be offered in their life that they are offered [them], because they did absolutely what they were supposed to do and my son is here because of them.” Both officers, who have less than two years on the job, completed the CPR training that is required for new NYPD recruits, according to the outlet. “It’s just incredible to see what they’re doing with the right training,” Makai’s dad, Brandon Laboy, told the network. “It’s just – they saved his life. In those moments, you can’t understate how good the training that they have is. So it’s an awesome thing to see.”