Body Camera Captures West Valley City Officer Assisting In Roadside Birth
Feb 11, 2020, 11:00 PM | Updated: Feb 12, 2020, 7:51 am
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Officer Jeremy Dean with the West Valley City Police Department said he had never delivered a baby before.
That changed Tuesday morning when an SUV stopped in front of his vehicle on 3100 South near Bangerter Highway.
“You usually don’t see a car stop in the middle of traffic and somebody jump out of the car,” Dean said. “The driver got out of the car. He looked pretty panicked.”
What happened next could be heard on body camera video, with the father saying “my baby is outside here.”
“He basically told me his wife was having a baby,” Dean said. “I was not prepared for that.”
Dean, who had previous experience as an emergency medical technician, radioed for more help, grabbed some gloves out of the back of his cruiser and scrambled over to the SUV as the father prodded him.
“She said she was going and (the) baby came out,” Dean said. “The baby was crying—not super loud, just the cute, newborn baby kind of thing. She was breathing very well and moving and just cared for it until (the ambulance) got there.”
The officer later visited the baby at the hospital and delivered a West Valley City Police Department onesie.
The parents had named the baby Michelle.
“Congratulations to mom and dad!” Dean said. “(She is) pretty cute, too.”
Dean said as an expecting father, he has tended to step aside and let the professionals handle it.
He said though his wife commended him for performing admirably when the shoe was on the other foot, he hoped to be better prepared next time.
“I’m just glad I could be there and help out,” Dean said.
