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A Chicago police officer is being praised for her extraordinary actions after she helped deliver a baby while responding to an unrelated shooting incident.
Field Training Officer Josie Christopher refused to be called a hero for work that night.
“Any officer would have done what I did,” Christopher told WLS News. “She was very scared. I was very scared. I had never done anything like this before.”
At approximately 7:40 a.m. on December 21, the Chicago Police Department’s 17th District received a 9-1-1 call regarding a person who had been shot. The responding team from the Albany Park police station included Christopher and Officer Antonio Pelayo, who immediately called for paramedics and began applying a tourniquet to the victim’s heavily bleeding leg, which ultimately saved the man’s life.
As the officers were completing their investigation, Christopher was waved down by a resident who led her to a woman in labor just four doors away from the shooting scene.
The expectant mother had gone into labor while en route to the hospital and asked her husband to pull over. Without hesitation, Christopher stepped in to assist with the delivery.
“The baby was mostly out when I got there, so I just helped her put the baby on the chest,” Christopher recounted.
There was an initial moment of concern because the baby wasn’t crying. Christopher described the moment when the child finally cried as “amazing.”
A 21-year veteran officer and a mother herself, Christopher played a pivotal role in delivering the healthy baby girl, marking the first time in her career that she has handled such a situation.
Downplaying her actions, she stated: “It was just the right place at the right time.”
Both the mother and the newborn were promptly transported to a nearby hospital, where they, along with the father, are reported to be doing well. Additionally, the shooting victim is expected to make a full recovery.
Pelayo reflected on the significance of the moment.
“We do see a lot of bad things in our job every day, but every now and then every now and then you have a really good day that you really carry on for the rest of your days as a cop,” he told WFLD.
The Chicago Police Department also officially recognized the officers for their actions in a Facebook post.
“Thanks to every officer for quick, calm action that helped save one life and safely bring another into the world!” the department wrote.
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