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A New York police officer is gaining a reputation for delivering babies after helping deliver his fifth baby in the last nine years on the job.
On Saturday, November 26, Suffolk County Sergeant Jon-Erik Negron helped a Long Island woman deliver her baby along with fellow officers Conor Diemer, Jadin Rodriguez and Zachary Vormittag.
Shelby resident Rebecca Reyes called 9-1-1 after experiencing contractions. Initially believing the contractions to be a false alarm, she soon realized the baby was coming.
“I just want to thank them so much for showing up as soon as they did and being able to help me because, without them, I would’ve given birth to my baby alone,” Reyes said of the officers.
An ambulance arrived soon after the birth, and both the mother and child were transported to a hospital in good health.
“The two officers I was with, they handled it great,” Negron said. “I’ve seen them on calls handle themselves professionally, but this is nothing they’ve ever seen before or had to deal with. They made her feel comfortable — as comfortable as you can be in your own living room having a baby.”
Negron, who is a veteran of such calls at this point, responded to his first baby delivery call five years ago.
In that call, a woman experienced a dangerous complication with an unexpected birth at her home in Mount Sinai.
Arriving at the scene, Negron found that the newborn had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and was not breathing. He snapped the cord with his own hands to free the child, but realized that wasn’t the only problem and that there was something blocking the infant’s throat.
Negron ultimately used a turkey baster from the home’s kitchen to suck fluid out of the infant’s airway, which restored the baby’s breathing.
The parents even asked Negron to be the infant’s godfather, which he accepted. The officer has since developed a strong relationship with the family.
The baby’s father, Mike Pappalardo, said Negron celebrates birthdays and holidays with the family.
“If it wasn’t for Jon, I don’t know if Bryce would be here,” Pappalardo said. “He’s more than a hero to us, he’s family.”
Negron, who is 37, does not have children of his own, but he said he frequently is called to help deliver babies on the job.
“I’ve always said, ‘That’s probably the last one because this is getting crazy now,’ but at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened again,” the officer told Newsday.
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