Officer Dan Templeton was just starting his day with the Elk Grove, California Police Department when a vehicle pulled up beside his squad car and the driver honked the horn repeatedly. Seeing the couple inside was panicking, he had them pull into the parking lot of a nearby business.
That’s when Templeton realized the reason for their panic. The woman was in the middle of giving birth. What made the incident more terrifying is that the baby was not breathing.
Officer Templeton’s actions were caught on the dashboard camera of his patrol car. He retrieved a blanket from his car and had the woman, Vanessa Rios, lay down. Unable to wait for the fire department to arrive, Templeton assisted with the birth. After watching the birth of his two sons, he did have experience in these situations.
Rios was able to push the baby all the way out, and it soon began crying. Both mother and baby were taken to Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center. The baby was later named Jesiah and weighed eight pounds, 14 ounces. Officer Templeton later visited the family in the hospital. He admitted that had the family not come across his patrol car that morning and gotten his attention, little Jesiah may not have survived the birth.