Onondaga County Department of Corrections
CICERO, NY — At approximately 8pm on Sunday, an off-duty Onondaga County correction officer rendered life-saving aid to a choking newborn girl at Walmart in Cicero, NY.
Anibal Pizarro, a 9 year veteran of the Onondaga County Department of Correction, entered the Walmart superstore on Route 11 in Cicero with the intention of picking up a snack on his way to the gym.
“I had just walked in and I was looking at the sandwiches when I saw a group of people running in the direction of the customer service desk,” Pizarro recalled. “I looked over in that direction, figuring there was a shoplifter or something like that. I thought that maybe I would recognize them.”
Pizarro continued to shop and was heading into the store when he overheard some women talking.
“I heard one of the girls mention something about a child turning blue. I interrupted her and asked her to repeat herself. She said that there was a baby over there choking and no one was doing anything about it,” Pizarro recalled.
It was then that the law enforcement officer’s training kicked in and he immediately responded to the area.
“I saw a crowd of ten or fifteen people surrounding this woman with an infant and they were just standing there. I noticed the woman was kind of tossing the baby up in the air, which was something I remember my mother used to do. I think this was an old-world method of thinking, but I know that it is obviously not helpful at all. I told the mother to give me the baby and had someone call 911. I could immediately see that the baby’s face was blue and the infant was not breathing. At this point, I used my first aid and CPR training.”
All Onondaga County officers are annually trained in CPR and first aid in order to carry out their duties as first responders and assist in providing emergency aid to staff, inmates at the prison, and the public when necessary.
“While I was delivering back blows and chest thrusts (American Safety and Health Institute training calls for these actions to remove potential foreign-body airway obstructions), another woman was using a bulb to try and suction out mucous from the baby’s nose. After what seemed like a half an hour, the baby finally coughed and started crying.
A couple of minutes later, Rural Metro showed up and took the baby to the hospital. Then it was all over, just like that,” an animated Pizarro expressed.
“Everyone just dispersed and I walked away trying to act like I was just going to go about my shopping, but I wandered around and couldn’t really remember what I was there for, so I left too,” the officer laughingly recalls.
The family could not be reached for comment, but an assistant manager of the Cicero store who was present for the event gave an account of what he witnessed.
“This newborn girl was in her mother’s arms and her face was just blue. The woman did not know what to do and started lightly tossing the baby in the air as if to dislodge whatever she was choking on. Then this guy comes out of nowhere.”
The manager, who would not be identified per store policy, recounted, “He took the baby and placed her along his forearm and applied some kind of CPR. After about a minute, the baby started coughing up a bunch of spit and snot. Her face color went back to normal and she started crying. Within another minute or so, the EMTs arrived and stabilized the infant and took her to the hospital. This man really took control of the situation. He did a great job. It was very impressive to watch.”
Officer Pizarro started his career with Onondaga County in 2008, completing the Central New York Regional Law Enforcement Academy and entering the corrections field. He has been an evolving officer and continues to flourish in law enforcement.
One of Pizarro’s supervisors, Sergeant Josh Stewart offered praise for his brother in blue when told of the event.
“Officer Pizarro is one of our shining stars here at the department. He is dependable and carries himself with professionalism at all times, a true representation of an officer both on and off-duty.”
Officer Anibal Pizarro’s actions Sunday night shine a light on the real identity of law enforcement today. At the heart of it all, first responders are public servants, ready to respond to emergencies and provide assistance not because they have to, but because they want to.
Officer Pizarro is a hero and I speak on behalf of the entire Onondaga County Department of Correction when I say that I am proud to call him my brother.