Sterling Heights officer recounts saving choking baby at Walmart: "The doors could not open fast enough"
A Sterling Heights police officer's quick response saved a choking baby's life at a Walmart earlier this month when he stopped breathing.
"I rushed in there. The doors could not open fast enough," said Officer Edwar Talia.
Frantic moments at the store off Van Dyke Avenue on Nov. 1 as Talia booked it through the store when he got the call of a baby not breathing.
"I panicked. I started screaming I needed help," said the child's mother, Bayley Simon.
Simon says she was nursing her 5-month-old son Jameson when she realized he had choked.
"I noticed he went completely limp, pulled him out from under my shirt, he was blue, no pulse, nothing. I'm CPR certified, and in the moment of panic, I couldn't do anything," Simon said.
That's when Talia stepped in.
"I kneeled down, I started doing just a few back blows while I'm talking to him. I can feel him breathing, but it's very agonal. Very shallow," Talia said. "I'm reverting back to my CPR training that I had a recertification training for the week prior."
His quick and calm response saved baby Jameson.
"As soon as he got there, he realized what was happening, and he knew exactly what to do," said Simon. "I can't thank everyone enough. Without their quick action, my child would not be with me today."
What could have been a horrific tragedy was instead a moment of gratitude for this officer's heroic, lifesaving efforts.
"He took a deep breath, where I noticed that whatever was lodged in his throat definitely dislodged," said Talia. "I was like at the right place at the right time, and obviously with my recertification training, the right person."
Simon tells CBS News Detroit that Jameson is doing very well since the incident and is in great health.