Earlier this month police officers in Georgia rescued a newborn baby girl who had been placed inside of a plastic bag and abandoned. The officers were responding to a call from a citizen. A press release from the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office explains:
On June 6, 2019 at approximately 10:08 PM, Deputies responded to the 1900 block of Daves Creek Road in reference to what the caller described as a baby crying in the woods. Shortly after deputies arrived on scene they located a newborn female infant that had been abandoned in a wooded area along Daves Creek Road. The infant was found inside of a plastic bag. Deputies immediately rendered first aid and the infant was transported to an area hospital and is in stable condition.
Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman told the Fox News Channel that the baby had been born just hours prior.
The police released shocking video footage captured by an officer’s body camera as he removed the helpless baby from the bag, speaking tenderly to the child while it cried. Viewers should be aware that the police posted the following warning on their Facebook page: “THE FOOTAGE HERE IS GRAPHIC AND VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.”
Fox 5 interviewed the officer in the video, Deputy Terry Roper, who explained why he was heard apologizing to the baby in the video, saying “I’m so sorry.”
“At first, I think it was because I opened the bag up in the baby's face. But then -- I was just apologizing for the situation,” Deputy Roper explained. “I was sorry that she had been dumped and abandoned,” he said.
"I'M SO SORRY"... @ForsythCountySO Deputy Terry Roper explains his heartbreaking words captured on his bodycamera video, as he rescues a newborn baby tied in a plastic bag. The interview @FOX5Atlanta pic.twitter.com/gIRWectGFw
— Jaclyn Schultz FOX 5 (@jaclynFOX5ATL) June 27, 2019
The officer “knew he needed to keep the baby warm, and went to retrieve a pair of pants from a fellow deputy's vehicle; he held the baby until paramedics arrived,” Fox 5 reported, noting that he also “went back to the hospital the following night to visit her and hold her.”
Sheriff Freeman said that the baby is doing well and the police are looking for information that will help them determine the identity of the mother.
Police are requesting that anyone with information contact their tip line at 770-888-7308—the information can be passed on anonymously.
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