Call of duty: Elsies River police officers deliver baby
CAPE TOWN - Two police officers in Cape Town had no idea they would be bringing life into the world when they rocked up for work on Thursday.
Officers attached to the Elsies River police station responded to a complaint of a woman in labour at about 3.40am.
According to provincial police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi, Constable Lucinda Raffie and her partner, Sergeant Gert Swart, attended to the complaint in Tiara Way in Leonsdale.
“They (the officers) found a man and a woman waiting outside on the arrival of an ambulance as the woman was in labour. The police members advised the woman to go inside and make herself comfortable,” Swartbooi said.
He said once inside the home, the woman indicated she was about to give birth and officers Raffie and Swart immediately reached for their gloves.
“Within a split second, the baby was delivered and landed in the capable hands of Constable Raffie.
“Guided by advice from the medical personnel via cellular telephone, she managed to hand over a healthy baby boy to the medical personnel upon their arrival,” Swartbooi said.
The mother and baby were thereafter transported to a medical facility.
He said the family of the newborn baby boy praised the response and reaction of officers Raffie and Swart.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL