Police rescue emaciated newborn baby from Phoenix apartment days after its mother died
An โemaciatedโ baby survived several days alone in a Phoenix, Arizona, apartment after the infantโs mother died, authorities said.
Shocking bodycam footage released by the Phoenix Police Department shows the newborn clinging to life after officers broke down the door while performing a welfare check on May 14.
Authorities forced down the front door of the home after an observant neighbor called 911 to ask for a welfare check as the woman โhad recently given birth to a baby, and had not been seen or heard from for several days,โ Phoenix police said in a news release.
Bodycam footage shows an officer peering into the home through an open window and telling the other first responders, โThe babyโs here, dude.โ And the babyโs still alive.โ
While looking through the window, officers also spotted the mother lying โmotionless on the floor.โ
Police then broke down the door and retrieved the โvisibly emaciatedโ baby was lying on a nearby bed, police said in the release.
“Officers rushed to the front door and forced it open,” Sergeant Brian Bower said in the news release. “Officers swiftly rescued the infant and met with Phoenix Fire personnel, who took the child to the hospital in serious condition.”
Police said the babyโs health has since improved, and they are expected to make a โfull recoveryโ after receiving โlifesaving care.โ
Bower praised the actions of the officers, telling KPHO, โItโs because of the smart, immediate actions of the officers as well as the neighbors seeing something unusual and calling in for help.โ
โIt wasnโt learned until well after the fact from doctors and staff at the hospital that if the police officers didnโt immediately provide aide and didnโt immediately go into the apartment, the child may not have survived much longer,โ he added.
Authorities are still investigating the cause and manner of death for the mother, according to the news release. The Department of Child Safety is also helping investigators and the childโs family.
