Officers Save Baby; Lauren Bush; 9th

Link:http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/05/us/beyond-the-call-of-duty-john-conneely-mike-modzelewski/index.html

Last September in Chicago, police officers John Conneely and Mike Modzelewski were responding to a shooting on their radio as they’ve done many times before. But Conneely says this time was different. “It was very chaotic. When we first arrived, there had to be about a hundred people out on the street, screaming, crying, people yelling.” 

They found five victims who had been shot from a drive-by shooting. One of them was 11-month-old Princeton Chew. Princeton's pregnant mother and his grandmother were also shot.  Modzelewski shares his reaction to the violence. “It’s an unreal situation. Borderline helplessness. You’re not quite sure what to do. You want to take action, some kind of action simply because it is a child, and that's pretty much what we did.” The officers broke a department policy to take the baby to the hospital in their police car instead of waiting for an ambulance.

Conneely made a call to Stroger Hospital. "I radioed ahead to them to let them know we were coming in 'hot,' so to speak.” Conneely said Modzelewski ran into the hospital and gave Princeton to emergency personnel who were already waiting for them. 

Princeton’s neighbors were grateful for the officer’s actions. The officers' supervisors agreed what they did was the right thing to do, and they were not punished for violating department policy. Princeton is being taken care of by family members. No arrests have been made in connection to the shooting.

I think this story serves as an important reminder that, although some cops lack basic moral standards, there are many others that are dedicated to helping people.