Body camera footage has captured the moment a baby boy’s life hung in the balance, as a police officer saved him by performing CPR atop his patrol car bonnet after the infant stopped breathing.
The parents of 1-year-old Zaire Brown from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, placed a frantic 911 call shortly after 2 a.m. on Aug. 31, from their car on the way to the hospital. The dispatcher advised them to pull over and immediately directed medical assistance to their location.
Fortunately, Officer Robert Baer of Murfreesboro Police Department was close by and heard the alert on his car radio. He drove to the location and was flagged down by the baby’s father.
The quick-thinking officer then placed the baby on the bonnet of his car and immediately started chest compressions. He can be heard pleading with the toddler, “Stay with me, buddy!”
Meanwhile, the distressed father is also heard pleading in the background, “Please don’t stop breathing.”
Officer Baer’s first attempt to resuscitate baby Zaire failed. The officer then “picked him up and his eyes rolled in the back of his head.” He placed the baby back down and began a second round of chest compressions.
The officer’s effort soon paid off, and the baby began to whimper. Officer Baer relayed the news, “1145, the baby’s breathing,” before EMS and the fire department arrived to take over.
“I felt relief. I don’t know how long I did compressions. In that situation it feels like forever,” Officer Baer said.
A week after saving baby Zaire’s life by the roadside, Officer Baer reunited with the baby and his mother, Marchelle Brown, at their home and held the recovered tot in his arms. A grateful Ms. Brown told the officer, “I really appreciate it, and thank you very much that you saved my son.”
