Off-Duty Deputies Save Choking Two-Year-Old Girl At Arundel Mills Mall
HANOVER, Md. (WJZ) -- Two off-duty Anne Arundel County Sheriff's Office deputies are being credited with saving a choking two-year-old girl at Arundel Mills Mall earlier this month.
The sheriff's office said Cpl. Frank Blucher and Cpl. Doug Schwaab were working security at the mall -- which they do separately from their employment with the sheriff's office -- around 3:15 p.m. on December 7 when they were called for an unknown disturbance at the Skechers store.
When the duo got to the store, they found a woman yelling for help while her daughter appeared to be unconscious.
"Somebody said there was a baby choking, so I looked down, I saw the father had the child," Schwaab said. "She was very pale, didn't appear to be breathing."
Schwaab started performing the infant Heimlich maneuver, helping the girl begin breathing again. He said his instincts just took over at that point.
"I did a couple, then I stopped, checked, then I started doing it again and then she took a deep breath," Schwaab said.
Meanwhile, Blucher called for medical assistance and comforted the parents.
Schwaab said it was his first time having to perform the maneuver on the job.
The girl was taken to a hospital for further evaluation. While her condition wasn't specified, she had reportedly regained her color and was reaching for her parents at the scene.
Both deputies have worked for the sheriff's office for more than 12 years and for the mall for more than eight years.