Gilroy Police Officer Geoff Guerin received kudos from city
officials this week after he saved the life of a two-month-old girl
earlier this month.
Gilroy Police Officer Geoff Guerin received kudos from city officials this week after he saved the life of a two-month-old girl earlier this month.
Guerin, who has served Gilroy Police Department for 11 years, was driving on the 8200 block of Forest Street at about 1:55 p.m. July 9 when a woman frantically yelled that her granddaughter was not breathing.
“It’s a scary situation when all of a sudden you’re faced with a baby not breathing,” Guerin said. “I’m glad that I was there … but there wasn’t anything that I did that I think anyone else in that situation would not have done.”
Guerin is assigned to the department’s Anti-Crime Team, and he said he was driving an assigned unmarked white police Ford Crown Victoria while off duty when the baby’s grandmother waved him down.
The baby’s throat was filled with mucous and she was turning blue as he arrived, he said. Guerin said he quickly radioed the fire department and paramedics, and he used his finger to clear out the baby’s airway. Then, he turned the infant on her stomach and patted her back to comfort her and ensure her air passage remained clear, he said.
“Pretty quickly, she started breathing again and was crying like a two-month-old should be doing,” Guerin said.
The officer called for additional help and held the baby in his arms until Gilroy Fire Department and American Medical Response paramedics arrived.
He contacted the baby’s family regarding her well-being and condition when additional help arrived, and the baby was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment and observation, police said.
“It is comforting to both live and work in the City of Gilroy knowing that Officer Guerin is a perfect example of the Police Department’s mission statement of ‘providing excellent public safety services in partnership with the community,'” Gilroy Fire Engineer Randy Wong wrote of Guerin in an e-mail.
Gilroy City Manager Tom Haglund also gave Guerin acclaim.
“You exemplify what the safety services seek to do – protect our community,” he stated in an e-mail.
Like all Gilroy police officers, Guerin is trained in both first aid and CPR. Still, Sgt. Chad Gallacinao said it is rare for police to be in a situation where they have to put these skills to use.
Guerin said he was just happy to be at the right place at the right time.
“I was glad I was there and able to represent the Gilroy (Police Department),” he said.
