AndrewBlakeMerrillville, IN – On his first day on the job, Officer Richard Mayer saved a baby girl’s life.
Mayer, who just started with the Hobart Police Department, saved an infant from choking to death Jan. 12, according to WGN-TV.
A mother who was eating at a Chik-Fil-A restaurant noticed her daughter was choking and unable to dislodge the food, she rushed to a nearby police officer a few tables away who saved the girl’s life.
Melanie Hasse and her 15-month-old daughter, Charlotte, were at the restaurant when the infant started choking while eating her lunch, according to WLS-TV.
“I looked over and she started gagging. I could see something kind of in the back of her throat, mistakenly reached in to try to grab it out, I think that pushed it back into her throat,” said Hasse.
The mother then looked across the restaurant and saw Officer Mayer eating with some friends. Mayer had also noticed the baby was choking and had turned purple, WLS reported.
The mother picked up her child and ran to Officer Mayer for help.
“She came running over…I grabbed her and Officer Ramos to my right flipped her over, we did back slaps on her and got food dislodged from her throat right away,” Officer Mayer said. “That caught us all off guard.”
The officer dislodged a tiny piece of apple from Charlotte’s throat.
“This is what he was meant to do,” Hasse said. “To save lives in some kind of way.”
Hasse went on the Hobart Police Department Facebook page to thank Officer Mayer.
“Nothing scarier than your child choking,” Hasse wrote. “It was so fast, he didn’t even pause- he just knew exactly what to do. I am forever indebted to you, Officer Mayer. Thank you for saving my baby girl. God was protecting us for sure. To Adam Zormier and the other officer who was there, thank you as well. I know if it wasn’t Officer Mayer who had been right in front of me, either of you would have done the same thing. Everyday heroes, people.”