TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Tampa police officer’s body camera recorded a frightening incident last month when a man, holding a child, urgently approached him, exclaiming, “He’s choking.”
The officer, along with several colleagues, immediately sprang into action to assist the young boy as the man, in a state of panic, shouted that the boy had been eating a tomato and now “he can’t breathe.”
Footage revealed an officer positioning the boy over his knee and gently patting his back. Another officer attempted to communicate with the boy, asking him to open his mouth, but he remained unresponsive.
The man who brought the child to them continued pacing worriedly in the background, crying, “Oh my God, no.”
After multiple attempts to get the food clear from the boy’s throat, he finally began making noises and was able to spit the food out.
“There it is,” an officer said, pointing to the piece of food on the ground.
The officer then lifted the boy up into his arms and asked him, “You alright?”
“What was it?” the boy cried.
“It was a little tomato,” the officer said in reply as he tried to comfort the child.
In a Facebook post sharing the video, the Tampa Police Department warned that choking can often be silent and, if someone can’t speak or cough, that should be a sign to call 911 immediately.
“A terrifying moment turned into a life saved,” the police department wrote. “Thanks to the quick, compassionate response of our officers, the toddler is safe today.”
