JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 7-month-old boy was rescued at a Spring Park apartment complex after he was found unresponsive because of a suspected drug overdose, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Body camera video from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office showed Officer Langston rushing through the complex to find the unresponsive child on June 5.
Langston immediately jumped into action to help the child, assessing his condition and performing a sternum rub to get him breathing again. In the meantime, Officer Pressnalle kept the child’s father and concerned neighbors and relatives calm.
The father told police that he saw his son eating a cigarette butt in the apartment’s outside hallway.
When Jacksonville Fire Rescue arrived, medical crews gave the child Narcan, a medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, and then rushed him to the Wolfson Children’s Hospital for treatment.
Doctors said fentanyl was found in his blood, according to JSO.
Detectives also said what appeared to be drugs were found in the child’s home.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney said it’s a “miracle” the child is still alive.
“Fast thinking on the officer’s part. Fast thinking on the Good Samaritan’s part, in the complex working to save that child. But what gets me is the preventable nature of what happened to that baby. Legal. Illegal. If you have substances that hurt a child, keep them out of reach,” he said.
The child was released to a family member after several days of treatment. JSO and the Department of Children and Families are investigating.
To watch JSO’s video of the incident, click here.