Police Officer Pulls Toddler From Pool

A 19-month-old child rescued from a backyard swimming pool by a police officer Monday was in critical condition, authorities said.

The boy apparently wandered out of a house on the 18000 block of Mayall Street and fell into the pool in the yard, said Det. Tony Foti of the Los Angeles Police Department. “It appears to be completely accidental,” Foti said. “The boy was possibly chasing a basketball when he fell in.”

The pool was fenced off to outsiders, but Foti said the boy, whose family was visiting from out of town for the holidays, probably walked out a side door that led to the pool.

The initial call to police was that the child was missing, Foti said. At about 10:45 a.m., Officer Patrick Cronnin arrived at the house, spotted the boy in the pool and dove in to pull him out.

Paramedics rushed the boy to Northridge Hospital Medical Center. “He was in full 1/8cardiac 3/8 arrest when we got him,” said Jim Wells, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman.

The name of the boy was not released.