2 LAPD Officers Work as a Team to Save a Baby’s Life

Two Los Angeles police officers, flagged down by frantic parents as the officers left the scene of a drive-by shooting, resuscitated a 3-week-old girl who had stopped breathing and rushed her to a hospital, police said Friday.

Officers Dale Best and Patty McComb had just finished aiding homicide investigators Thursday at the scene of the fatal shooting of Juan Carlos Gonzalez in Mar Vista when the parents of the unidentified infant rushed over to them and told them their child had stopped breathing.

“They were hysterical,” Best said of the couple who stopped him near the scene of the shooting at 4850 Marianwood Drive. “The woman was standing out there in her nightgown screaming. We put them both in the car and turned on the siren.”

While Best drove the infant and the parents to Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in a squad car, McComb cleared the baby’s throat and nose and resuscitated her.

“The baby just had a severe cold,” said Best, 46, of the Pacific Division. “But had somebody not known how to clean its mouth out, it would have probably died.”

A Daniel Freeman spokesman said the infant, whose parents were not identified, was treated for the cold and breathing difficulties and was transferred to Santa Monica Hospital early Friday.

Best, who on Friday celebrated his 21st anniversary as a police officer, said his captain had suggested honoring the officers for saving the infant’s life.

“That’s nice, but it just felt darn good to be out there,” Best said. “This kid, this tiny infant wasn’t breathing. It puts a wet spot in the corner of your eye.”

Best said Friday also marked the last day McComb would spend as his partner.

“She’s going back to (the Police) Academy to finish her training,” he said. “What a way to spend your last night.”

Best credited his temporary partner with actually saving the baby.

“I was just a cab driver,” he said. “She did all of the work. Luckily, she had bothered to learn how to resuscitate people.”

The West Bureau CRASH anti-gang unit is investigating the drive-by shooting. Police said there have been no arrests in the incident.