HOBART, Ind. (WSVN) — An Indiana police officer proved that he was fit for duty when he saved a toddler’s life on his very first day on the job.
According to WGN, Hobart Police officer Richard Mayer had just sat down for lunch with some co-workers at a Chick-fil-A when Melanie Hassee ran over to their table with her daughter in her arms.
Hassee said her 15-month-old child wasn’t breathing, and she thought she may have been choking.
“She looked purple in the face,” Officer Mayer said. “I grabbed her. Officer Ramos was next to me and flipped her over. We did the back slaps, three to four of them. It was an apple that was dislodged from her throat and we knew she was breathing again.”
The relieved mother said she was grateful that the officers happened to be in the restaurant right when she needed them most.
“I don’t think this was a coincidence that this was his first day,” Hassee told WGN. “I think he was meant to be somebody who protects and who saves and I’m just so thankful for him.”
Mayer said he has a 1-year-old daughter and he has actually saved his own child in the past using the same baby Heimlich Maneuver.
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