Officers’ Training Delivers--a Baby Boy

Two San Diego police officers got more than they bargained for Wednesday when they were flagged down by a woman who did not speak English and wound up delivering another woman’s baby inside a parked van, police said.

Patrol officers Robert Lewis, 29, and Raphael Cimmarrusti, 24, went to the van in the 1500 block of Imperial Avenue, where they saw that Juana Perez, 22, of Encanto, was about to have a baby.

Perez was joined in the van by the woman who stopped police and a boy, all believed to be related, but none of whom could speak English. This greatly complicated communication as neither of the officers spoke Spanish.

Lewis called paramedics, who were expected to arrive in 5 minutes. Lewis saw the baby’s head showing and helped Perez deliver the baby by turning the child’s shoulders, police spokesman Bill Robinson said.

“I wasn’t panicked,” Lewis said after the delivery. “I hoped the paramedics would show up and do it, but I knew, if I had to, I could.”

Perez and her son, who has not been named, were taken to Paradise Valley Hospital, where they were doing well.

Robinson said “it’s very rare,” for a police officer to deliver a baby. “When we used to patrol in police ambulances, officers would respond to medical emergencies pretty frequently. Now it’s more like an annual occurrence,” he said.

Robinson said officers are instructed in medical emergencies during their academy training. “The officer knew what he was doing,” Robinson said.

“It was an experience I won’t forget,” Lewis said. “Without the police academy training, I wouldn’t have known what to do.”