A woman’s screams summoned LAPD Officer Popham, a 19-year veteran of the force, and his rookie partner, Officer Francisco Muro, this Monday afternoon. They entered the fifth floor of a Main Street building, but the scene was not what either of them was expecting.
The woman was apparently in distress, but not because of a gunshot wound or stabbing – her water broke, and she was in the middle of giving birth. With the assistance of four others police officers at the scene, Popham and Muro started assisting the woman.
They timed her contractions and convinced her to lay down calmly. “I told her, you gotta push, you gotta push now,” Popham said. “If you don’t something is going to happen to the baby. She did. She pushed real hard. The baby came straight out.”
A healthy baby girl got wrapped in blankets the neighbors brought, and paramedics took the mother to the hospital for recovery. Even if officers do get some basic training on how to deliver a baby, it’s rare for them actually to put that knowledge to use.
Popham is a father of four and witnessed births before, but was never such a direct participant. Muro has only been a member of the force for six months and said that the experience impacted him. “I definitely want to be a dad, but it’s a great day to be an LA officer,” he said while sporting a big smile.
This article was inspired by ABC11 // LAPD officers help woman deliver Christmas baby.