Chicago Police Officer Christopher Elliott was filling out an accident report just before 11 p.m. Wednesday at a Citgo gas station at the intersection of Western and Diversey when a frantic father ran over to him for help. His child was choking.
"I grabbed the baby and I said, 'Is it choking?' And I started tapping it on the back. I was tapping it, the baby started to vomit out some food. As soon as it vomited it started to cough and it started crying and breathing again," Officer Elliot said.
The child's parents did not speak English, so they couldn't explain the situation to Officer Elliott. Officer Elliott said his military and police academy training kicked in -- as did his own personal scare.
"I've choked before. I know what that feels like. It feels like you can't breathe, you can't move, you're like stuck. The baby looked stuck, and the ma says 'not breathing,'" Officer Elliott said.
"I seen they had the child, they had it, trying to get it to respond. And then the police came and they turned it upside down and kind of pat it on its back like," Lee Pierce, Citgo gas station. "Then the ambulance came."
The toddler was taken to Children's Memorial Hospital to be checked out. He was released early Thursday morning.
