A Florida deputy’s act of smashing a car window to save a one-year-old child who had become unintentionally imprisoned inside a running automobile was seen on bodycam film.
According to the Flager County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO), the incident occurred on May 20 at approximately 5 p.m. outside of a Walmart in Palm Coast.
An elderly couple was standing outside a Nissan Altima when deputies arrived on the scene. After putting the youngster in the car, the man claimed he realized the door was locked and the keys were inside before turning around and leaving the car.
The mother and man informed the attending deputies that before assistance arrived, the youngster had been in the car for eight to ten minutes. FCSO said that they saw the infant “sweating and appearing to be in distress.”
Deputy Christian Harrison declared right away that in order to remove the youngster from the car, he would have to smash the window. You can hear the mother of the youngster saying, “No, no, no,” while he tells her, “I have to.” She’s been stuck in there.”
Harrison busted the back window of the passenger’s car with his agency-issued shatter balls. Once he used his collapsible baton to clean the remaining portion of the window, fire department paramedics assessed the child and determined that they were fine.
“Although this was an accident, I would like to take this time to remind parents of the dangers of leaving a child in a parked car at any time, especially if it is not running,” Sheriff Rick Staly stated in a department Facebook post. “Heatstroke can happen very quickly, even if it does not seem that hot outside. Remember, if it has a heartbeat, do not leave them in your car.”
The individual was handed a criminal uniform traffic penalty for adding an unassigned tag/registration decal while the police were on the scene.
