When New Yorkers sign up to become police officers, one of the most common reasons for taking the oath is a desire to help people and save lives. NYPD Officer Freddy Cerpa can say he has achieved that goal twice over, all in a matter of weeks.
Cerpa is not being hailed as a hero because he had to draw his service weapon and fight off danger, but instead because of the way he remained calm during a life-or-death situation and saved the lives of two babies.
The first incident came on Dec. 7 when Cerpa was off duty at his Long Island home. His neighbor rushed over, begging him for help. The distraught mother held her 1-year-old girl in her arms, who had stopped breathing after appearing to choke on mucus during a battle with a cold. He immediately jumped into action and performed what is known as “back slaps,” a technique trained to cops in the police academy. Using this maneuver, he cleared the blockage and saved the child before paramedics could arrive.
“I actually knew the child and the mother; she helped me through a hard time when my mother was sick with cancer,” Officer Cerpa said. “I was just glad I was able to repay the favor of helping her with her child and her time of need. When a mother comes to you, asking for life-saving help with their child, putting that trust in you, it’s a lot of pressure, but it also means a lot. The fact that I was able to help her it’s very fulfilling.”
Mere weeks later, on Jan. 16, Cerpa found himself again saving the life of a young child, but this time he had backup. Police Officer Megan Ficken was called to an apartment building near Watson Avenue and Manor Avenue in the Bronx just after 6 p.m. that Friday. A family had made a frantic 911 call reporting that their 2-year-old boy was unresponsive after appearing to choke.
“We run into the building, we go up to six flights, and upon arrival, there’s the baby. He’s on the floor, he’s clearly got his eyes closed — he’s unconscious. I picked him up because I knew that if he’s choking, you want to dislodge whatever he’s choking on. So, I picked him up, put him on my knee. I couldn’t feel him breathing, to be honest,” Officer Ficken recalled. “I just started rendering the back slaps. During that time, that’s when Officer Cerpa arrived.”
Again, less than a month later, Cerpa found himself coming face-to-face with a choking child, but like weeks earlier, he did not hesitate; he acted.
“I observed Officer Ficken performing back slaps,” Cerpa remembered. “Once she realized I was there and she pretty much just asked me to sit down next to her and help her. Another officer who was next to her made room for me, and from there, we worked together to make sure that the baby was okay.”
Both cops were able to resuscitate the child. The boy was later taken to Jacobi Hospital by EMS, where he was listed in stable condition.
According to Officer Ficken, the boy’s family was emotional and grateful to the pair. For Cerpa, he had now saved two children, one he knew personally and a stranger, but for him, it did not matter whether he was acquainted with them or not; the important thing was to save a life.
“A child is a child, whether I know them or not, I am giving 110%,” Cerpa said.
