A Merced police officer whose quick actions saved the life of a 14-month-old toddler was recognized during Monday’s City Council meeting.
Officer Cruz Ramirez was thanked by the council for his actions on Jan. 26, when he responded to a 911 call about a child who was choking.
According to Merced police, Ramirez arrived on scene and saw the child was unconscious and not breathing. Ramirez then performed numerous back thrusts on the child, dislodging the object. The child then breathed again and began crying.
Ramirez returned to the family’s home the next day to give the child a stuffed animal toy.
Merced Police Chief Steven Stanfield brought Ramirez before the council Monday to show his appreciation.
Stanfield gave Ramirez a special “chief’s challenge” coin, representing the officer’s exceptional performance.
“This is what people want to come to Merced to do. They want to serve this community. And Officer Ramirez is a true hero. He has been with our department for less than a year. And I am just so impressed,” Stanfield said.
Officer Ramirez said he was appreciative of the chief’s words and the thanks he’s received from the community. “I didn’t anticipate this moment to happen, but it did, and the end result was a positive one,” Ramirez said.
“One of the other reasons I went back the following day is I actually have a 5-year-old (child) at home,” Ramirez told the council.
“I couldn’t remember what the child looked like, just under the high amount of of stress that I was, so I wanted to go back, check on her, and kind of give her a gift…She was pretty pleased (and) had a big smile on her face.”