A quick-acting El Monte, California police officer revived an eight-year-old young boy who had stopped breathing after choking on a candy, a rescue captured on a harrowing video. The officer, Raul Vega, used the anti-choking device LifeVac, which literally sucks out stuck objects from victims’ throats.
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The boy, Ethan Cante, and his mother, Vanessa Becerra-Aguayo, appeared on Fox News at Night with Trace Gallagher to recall the terrifying ordeal:
Israeli Special Operations vet and law enforcement trainer Aaron Cohen, who is also a frequent Fox News guest, posted the above tweet and called the officer a hero:
Last night, @elmontepolice Officer Vega and his team responded to a call about an 8-year-old boy choking. With calm and professionalism, Officer Vega deployed the “Life Vac” anti-choking device to save the boys life. This officer is a hero.
I’ve been in law enforcement for two decades and this rescue is the essence of what law enforcement stands for – courage, quick thinking, and the commitment to protecting others. Without Officer Vega’s calm demeanor and professionalism, the equipment alone would have been ineffective and this boys life would be lost. It also highlights the importance of leadership that prioritizes equipping officers with the tools they need to save lives.
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It was a truly terrifying moment for the mom:
As soon as I saw him, when his little friend told me, I just saw him purple—he was already unconscious. So I just tried… the neighbors and I and I were trying to do compressions on his chest, breathe through his mouth, but nothing seemed to be working. He wasn’t able to talk to me, so he was unconscious the whole time.
There are two heroes to this story, however; one is Officer Vega, but the other is the inventor of the LifeVac tool itself, which can be successful even when the Heimlich Maneuver is not. He describes its inspiration on the company’s webpage:
The vision of LifeVac came from a story that Arthur Lih, founder and CEO of LifeVac, heard of a woman in a hospital weeping following the death of her young son. The reason for his death was that a grape had become lodged in his windpipe and the Heimlich Maneuver did not work. Once he heard the story he set out to invent an apparatus that could clear an airway.
This isn’t the first time it’s saved someone. This is from Austin, Texas:
Gallagher asked Vega about his thoughts on the tool:
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Our police department supplied 200 of these to our patrol officers, to the city employees. This is a life saver. It’s gonna—for $60 to $70.00—this is going to save someone’s life.
Actually, it just did. Nice job, Officer Vega and Lifevac CEO Arthur Lih.
This is one in a series about everyday heroes that don’t necessarily make the front pages. It’s a chance to talk about something other than Joe’s mumblings, college extremists, and rampant inflation.
I’m inviting readers to send me stories of people they know or who they’ve read about who have done heroic acts—large or small, physical or otherwise—that have made someone’s life better or saved them from danger. Please email me with any tips at [email protected] or DM me on Twitter. Thanks!
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