A tense video has gone viral after a police officer’s body camera captured the rookie cop saving a newborn’s life. Both the family and the officer have since spoken out, with the cop sharing the prayer he prayed during the frightening ordeal.
Cody Hubbard, a 23-year-old police officer in Pottsville, Arkansas, has been hailed as a hero after the rookie cop was captured on body camera video during a harrowing ordeal involving a newborn, who was experiencing a medical emergency. It all began when the baby’s parents were trying to give their newborn baby, Grady, anti-gas drops, and things took a terrifying turn.
According to Joe Chronister, the baby’s father, Grady began choking and losing air when he and his wife Katelin were giving him the medication. “We were trying to give Grady his medicine,” Joe recalled, “and he was taking them just fine,” the father added. Sadly, everything changed in an instant. “Right towards the end, he started choking,” the frightened new dad recalled.
Joe and Katelin immediately called 911 for help to save their baby boy, and Officer Cody Hubbard was dispatched to the scene following the call for an infant in distress, according to KARK-TV. When Officer Hubbard arrived, he jumped into action, even though he was admittedly “freaking out” the whole time.
“We were trying everything, and it seemed like he (Hubbard) knew exactly what to do,” Joe recalled.
Luckily, Officer Hubbard was able to keep it together and save the life of the 3-week-old newborn baby, and his heroic actions were captured in a tense video by his body camera, Fox & Friends reported. Although the video has a happy ending, it can be difficult to watch:
In the bodycam footage, Hubbard is seen clapping Grady on the back to help dislodge the anti-gas drops that have blocked his airway. Hubbard’s efforts are a success as the baby is able to breathe once more. Although Hubbard was definitely happy with the outcome, the rescue left him shaken up. In fact, he even said that after the incident, he immediately went out to his cruiser and cried.
“Whenever I roll up on this [kind of] call, anytime I deal with something that involves a child, I think about how the parents would want me to treat the child as if it was mine,” Hubbard, who’s a father himself, explained. “It felt good to see how that turned out. Mentally, I just broke down,” he added, calling the rescue “life-changing,” according to The Blaze. “I was crying, but it was happy tears.”
The Pottsville Police Department has since applauded Offer Hubbard’s efforts in an update on its Facebook page:
“As an officer, you never know what is ahead of you for the day, it can go from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye,” the Pottsville Police Department wrote. “Officer Hubbard went above and beyond to save a little life, thank you Officer Hubbard for your quick response. This is what we are all about!”
Although he’s been hailed a hero, Officer Cody Hubbard says he doesn’t deserve all the credit. Instead, he says he believes he had received help “from higher up” after he prayed that the Lord would be “on [his] side” during the call, Fox 16 reported. “Pretty much for the Lord to be on my side on this one,” Hubbard said, recalling how he prayed for help. For his heroic efforts, Hubbard is receiving a lifesaving award and plenty of gratitude from Grady’s parents, Joe and Katelin.
“Got him breathing and got him crying, which is a good thing,” Joe said, referring to the officer’s efforts. “He saved my baby’s life,” the grateful dad added. “Thank you so much for saving Grady’s life,” Joe continued. “We’re grateful for it.” Indeed, this is a job well done and a prime example of one of the many ways law enforcement officers serve and protect those in their communities. Who doesn’t like a story with a happy ending?
