Judging by the actions of this recruit, San Francisco’s 247th Police Academy class will be living up to the motto “protect and serve.”
San Francisco police said off-duty recruit Ricky Williams saved a baby who was “not breathing and had turned blue” at a San Leandro mall last week.
The officer-in-training was shopping at Bayfair Mall when he noticed a woman crying “hysterically,” police said. He then asked the mother if she needed help, and the mother told him that her 2-month-old son wasn’t breathing.
She was holding her “lifeless” baby in her arms, police said.
Williams quickly sprang into action, beginning CPR and chest compressions while the mother assisted.
"I grabbed the baby in the back seat of her car and started my compressions, which I learned in the academy," Williams said.
After a few cycles, the baby boy began breathing again and crying, police said.
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The infant was then transported to Children’s Hospital in Oakland, where he received treatment.
Now, the recruit -- who graduates in January -- is receiving praise from San Francisco's top cop.
SFPD Chief Greg Suhr commended Williams' actions, saying that the recruit demonstrated the department’s “sworn duty to help people.”
“Recruit Officer Williams’ immediate response is exactly what I expect from our officers and those training to become San Francisco’s finest,” Suhr said. “His conduct exemplified the best in all of us.”
Williams, an Oakland native and soon to be a father himself, said he would like to see the family again someday.
