An Alamaba police officer is receiving praise for her care of a one month old baby whose parents had overdosed.
In a photo posted onto Facebook, Officer Michelle Burton is seen coddling an infant girl, showing the multiple roles police often have to play.
AL.com reported that Burton and other responding officers were dispatched to an apartment at Tom Brown Village public housing community at around 9 p.m. on Aug. 31 for a welfare check after receiving a report of crying children.
Inside the home were 7-year-old girl, a 3-year-old boy, a 2-year-old boy, and a 1-month-old girl—along with their unconscious parents, who had overdosed.
The 30-year-old father was found dead on the kitchen floor and the 35-year-old mother was barely alive, but was able to be revived with Narcan and taken to a local hospital. She is expected to survive.
“It was a real sad situation,'' South Precinct Lt. David Rockett said. ”At least one of the parents survived. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that.”
Agency protocol requires that children are taken into protective custody. The children were taken to the South Precinct, where they were tended to by Burton and other officers.
The image of Burton holding the sleeping 1-month-old girl was captured in a photo by her husband, Sgt. Brian Burton and shared on Facebook. Burton recounted the night’s events and also wrote a sweet message to his wife.
“She spent the rest of the night taking care of these babies. She got home at 4 this morning. I’ve never seen her more beautiful than in this picture. What an incredible woman.”
The post has been shared over 1,500 times.
South Precinct commander Capt. Ron Sellers said the photo was an illustration of good police work.
“A police officer’s job is very hard and very demanding. We come across a lot of scenes of a tragic nature, especially when children are involved,'' said Sellers. ”Our first priority is to help the injured, but then we turn our focus on the children to make sure they are safe and well-taken care of. We’re glad our officer was able to help here.”
