Parents in particular will grasp just how deeply harrowing this footage is—and how all-consuming is the relief that the parents must have felt when the baby started breathing again:
[Warning: Intense]
"On January 19, an LAPD Sergeant assigned to Rampart Division was on patrol when he saw parents yelling for help, with a lifeless toddler in their arms," reads a description posted by the LAPD. "Without hesitation, the Sergeant took immediate action, cleared the airway, and seconds later the toddler was breathing."
The video shows a man holding a young child. He approaches Kim and begs for help.
"I don't know what's wrong! Officer, please!" he pleads. "I don't know what's wrong!"
[Sgt. Dumjin] Kim remained calm and composed despite the chaps around him. The man and a woman — understandably shaken by what was unfolding — continued screaming and begging for help.
The footage shows Kim working to clear the child's airway; after roughly a minute, "the baby suddenly started making noise and responding."
The incident hit the sergeant personally, though it was only after the job was done that he realized it:
"At the time it really didn't really cross my mind because it was about trying to get the baby breathing again," Kim said. "Ten minutes later, I started to feel it. The sigh of relief and how fragile life can be."
