Florida deputy, dispatcher save choking baby at ‘Shop with a Cop’ event

PALM COAST, Fla. - A deputy and dispatcher husband-and-wife duo in Florida jumped into action when a baby started choking at a community outreach event.

Dispatcher Lindsey Stanford and her husband Deputy Rick Stanford were helping kids pick out gifts at the Walmart in Palm Coast during "Shop with a Cop" when Lindsey noticed a baby in distress.

"I saw the mom, and she picked up the baby and started patting him and I just saw a look of panic on her face and she said that he was choking, so I walked over and I kind of just took the baby and I flipped him over, and I started doing the Heimlich," she explained.

The baby, less than a year old, was choking on a button. The mom later said they believe the button fell off their stroller. The first responder team worked together to dislodge the item.

"Got the baby on his stomach and hit him on his back a couple of times. I think she loosened up what was ever in there and the button came out and I was able to grab it out of his hand," said Rick. 

Sheriff Rick Staly called the overall event a success. He said 140 kids got gifts. He applauded his staff for jumping in.

"God has a reason for putting people in the right place at the right time and this is exactly what occurred," he said.