COCOA, Fla. – At the Cocoa Police Department Wednesday, Kyle McNamara and Christian Pyne used a camera bag from reporters to show how the officers did CPR on a 2-year-old Saturday to save the toddler from drowning.
The 911 calls from the Oak Meadows Apartments came in around 6 p.m.
“A baby is drowning,” a caller told the operator. “They’re trying to resuscitate him.”
McNamara was the first to get to the pool.
“I could see the baby’s mouth was blue, no breathing,” he said.
McNamara said the toddler’s mother took the boy out of the pool when the officer started CPR.
Pyne rushed in to help next.
“It was nice knowing that everything went well,” Pyne said. “Especially, considering it was my very first time going out there on a medical call with CPR and everything.”
Pyne was just sworn in to the police department last fall.
“Makes me feel like I did good and I was able to properly apply all my training,” he said.
News 6′s James Sparvero asked police if the toddler’s parents could get in trouble.
One report from police read, “allegation of inadequate supervision.”
In another report, the father of the toddler told police he was using the barbecue by the pool at the time his son almost drowned. That grill might be 100 feet from the pool.
McNamara said what caused the near-drowning and whether the parents will face charges is under investigation.
“I know that it was a birthday party, and I know that there were a lot of kids around the pool,” he said. “As to specific details, that is all case pertinent right now.”
According to the Florida Department of Health, there are enough children under the age of 5 lost to drowning every year to fill three or four preschool classrooms.
The CDC says Florida has the highest rate of unintentional drowning deaths among children ages 1 to 4 years in the country.
The state has resources to help parents protect their children from drowning. And starting in July, Florida will begin offering a voucher program for swimming lessons, part of a new law passed earlier this year. Go to watersmartfl.com for more information.
McNamara said it felt good to make a positive impact on his community.
“That’s why we sign up to do this job,” he said. “We just want to help people.”
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