MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Police Officer Pat Lowe was dispatched to what he thought was a disturbance call Jan. 15, when he quickly found it wasn’t a disturbance at all, but — a baby not breathing.
Because of a major language barrier and an understandingly hysterical mother, it took time for the 911 dispatcher to translate what was really needed was a fire department aid car, not a police officer.
“Not only was there a language barrier but there was a lot of people yelling and screaming in the background,” said TJ Young, operations manager for SNOCOM 911 dispatch center.
Because of all the noise and panic in the background, the dispatcher automatically sent a police officer for a disturbance call until SNOCOM and the caller could be connected with the AT&T Language Line, Young said.
After connecting to the translation service, a press of a button away, the caller was understood and found to have a baby that wasn’t breathing. This service takes about 10 to 15 seconds, Young said.
But this temporary hold up didn’t stop Lowe from taking action.
As he drove into the parking lot of the apartments at the 21400 block of 52nd Ave. W. at about 9:45 p.m. the mother, an Asian woman, ran out to him, crying for help, holding the baby, Lowe said, adding, they were followed by about nine other family members.
At this point, Lowe said, dispatch canceled his call and a fire department aid unit was on its way. Lowe said since he was there he thought he would see what he could do and wait with the family.
“It was one of those really cold nights we had, about 20 degrees, so I helped her take the baby back inside,” Lowe said.
Inside, they placed the baby, which was less than 1-year-old, on a small, empty table and he tried to clear the baby’s airway.
“I checked to see if the baby was breathing, and it wasn’t, so I reverted back to a first aid class we have had and tilted her head back and gave her some breaths …. She started to move and her eyes rolled back to the normal position and she slowly started to come to.”
Lowe said he was glad she was OK— acknowledging that it would be hard if an adult wasn’t breathing, let alone a baby— “that’s especially hard,” he said.
Lowe said he isn’t convinced that what he did had anything to do with the baby being OK.
“I’m not sure I played a big role in saving that baby at all, she might have been just fine if I didn’t do anything and the aid unit was there not long after that…” he said. Adding, “I was just doing what we’re suppose to do.”
Because of new privacy laws, information about what actually happened to the baby isn’t available, but Lowe said he did hear the emergency medical crew speculate it might have been caused by a type of seizure.
Mountlake Terrace Police Chief Scott Smith said he is proud of Lowe as he reacted appropriately and quickly to a life-saving situation.
“He was able to quickly change his mindset from going to what he thought would be a disturbance call and dealing with what all that may entail to actually being confronted with a baby that wasn’t breathing,” Smith said.
Smith said all police officers have some first aid training, but it’s not that often they have to use that kind of training.
“Fortunately it all worked out and the baby was OK,” he said.
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