Atlanta SWAT officer saves unresponsive infant by performing CPR

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A recent video has gone viral showing an Atlanta SWAT officer in the right place at the right time as he performed CPR on an unresponsive infant, saving that child’s life.

On May 13, at 12:38 p.m., Atlanta Police Department SWAT Officer Robert Oden was patrolling his normal corridor when he noticed a vehicle driving with its hazard lights active and “car horns frantically blowing.”

Officer Oden decided to follow the vehicle to investigate if a possible emergency was at hand. The vehicle parked at a fire station and the occupants jumped out running towards Officer Oden with the unresponsive infant in their arms.

That’s when we see Officer Oden’s bodycam footage showing him giving CPR to the unresponsive infant.

Officer saves baby

A woman ran towards Officer Oden holding a 4-month-old infant saying the child was not breathing.

“Please officer, he’s not responding,” the lady said. “Pierre!”

Officer Oden told dispatch about the situation and began checking the child’s pulse. Unable to find a pulse, Officer Oden began administering CPR, as you can see him giving chest compressions in the bodycam footage.

The chest compressions continued until Officer Oden was able to gain a pulse from the infant. Towards the end of the video you can see the infant’s legs begin to kick.

An EMS response team arrived shortly after and took possession of the child, rushing him to the hospital.

Atlanta Police praised Officer Oden’s actions on their Facebook page saying “we could not be prouder of him in this critical moment. We know the city of Atlanta is safer with SPO Oden and our team of professional, responsive, and caring officers who do this work and patrol our streets.”

In a society with some of the worst rates of police killings of civilians, Officer Oden’s actions reflect the potential for what a more humane public safety could look like.