Bronx mom reunites with NYPD officers who saved her choking baby
Body camera video captured the rescue. Arias gave Jheyler firm pats on the back while Abreu Garcia radioed for help and comforted his mother.
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The last time Janibel Montano needed two NYPD officers, she was crying as she handed them her unresponsive baby.
On Friday, she brought 10-month-old Jheyler Montero to the 44th Precinct for a much happier meeting — and called the officers her heroes.
“I feel very grateful,” Montano said in Spanish.
Officers Julio Arias and Karolin Abreu Garcia were heading to another call Saturday when someone flagged them down on the Grand Concourse. They turned around and found Montano desperate for help.
Montano said she knew something was wrong when her usually chatty baby went quiet. She checked on him and found him lying on his stomach, unresponsive. She tried giving him firm pats on the back, then rushed outside, where neighbors came to help.
Body camera video captured the rescue. Arias gave Jheyler firm pats on the back while Abreu Garcia radioed for help and comforted his mother.
“I’m a father too, so immediately I already know this is a parent’s worst nightmare,” Arias said.
Arias said he felt something come out less than a minute after he began helping the baby. Then Jheyler started crying and breathing again.
“I felt like I was breathing again when I saw the baby crying,” Abreu Garcia said.
Arias said he focused on making sure Jheyler was breathing rather than checking what had come out. Neither the officers nor Montano knows what the baby was choking on.
Jheyler was taken to a hospital to be checked. The officers later returned to see how he was doing.
Arias said he had received lifesaving training through the NYPD and at the hospital when his own children were born. This was his first time helping a choking child on the job.
His message to parents facing a frightening moment: “Try not to panic.”
He also credited Montano for seeking help when her efforts weren’t working.
“I want to give my props to the mom,” he said.
Friday’s reunion may be the start of a lasting connection. The officers joked about being Jheyler’s aunt and uncle, and both said they want to stay in his life.
Abreu Garcia is already thinking about bringing him a Christmas gift. Arias hopes his own little boy and Jheyler can play together one day.
