The words on the body-camera audio are simple and overwhelming: "OK. He's breathing, he's breathing."
Two NYPD officers are being credited with saving a 1-month-old baby boy who stopped breathing inside an Astoria, Queens, home. Footage of the rescue, released by the NYPD this week, has been shared widely online.
Key takeaways
- Officers Douglas Zimmerman and Jesutofunmi Aregbesola of the 114th Precinct answered the call on Oct. 1.
- They took over CPR from the baby's family and used two-finger chest compressions, the technique for infants.
- The baby started breathing again, was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan, and has since been released.
"A Full House"
The call came in around 4:41 p.m. on Oct. 1 from a home near 24th Avenue and 27th Street, Hoodline reported. When the officers ran inside, they found the infant unconscious and unresponsive and his family desperately trying to help.
"So it was a full house: mom and dad... grandma and grandpa," Aregbesola told ABC7 New York. Family members had already tried CPR themselves.
The officers took over. Aregbesola remembers trying to calm the baby's mother: "I just remember telling her, 'We're here, we're gonna take care of it.'"
As they worked, the mother told them the baby "threw up before anything happened." It's still unclear what caused him to stop breathing.
Two Fingers, Not Two Hands
The video shows the officers doing compressions on the baby's chest with just two fingers.
"When you're performing CPR on an infant that small, you can't do the same type of CPR that you would perform on an adult," Zimmerman explained.
He admitted he kept a terrible thought pushed to the back of his mind: "I didn't wanna have to tell the mom that we couldn't save her child. So I was just gonna continue doing whatever I had to do."
Moments later, someone in the footage says it: He's breathing.
- Oct. 1, ~4:41 p.m.911 callA 1-month-old stops breathing at a home near 24th Ave. and 27th St. in Astoria.
- On arrivalOfficers take over CPRZimmerman and Aregbesola start two-finger compressions as the family looks on.
- Moments later"He's breathing"The baby starts breathing again and is handed to EMS.
- Same dayHospitalHe's taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan.
- Oct. 13Video releasedThe NYPD makes the body-cam footage public.
A Grateful Dad
Since then, Aregbesola has spoken with the baby's father.
"He just expressed so much gratitude," the officer said. "He was wondering if he actually would get to see us again."
Zimmerman said he'd "never really experienced anything like that." For both officers, the outcome is the reward. "I'm just extremely grateful to have helped," Aregbesola said.
It's the second time in about a year that Queens officers have been caught on camera saving an infant. In October 2025, two officers from the 115th Precinct in Corona dislodged an obstruction from a choking 10-month-old.
FAQ
Who saved the baby in Astoria?
NYPD Officers Douglas Zimmerman and Jesutofunmi Aregbesola of the 114th Precinct, which covers Astoria and nearby parts of western Queens.
When did the rescue happen?
On Oct. 1, 2026, at about 4:41 p.m., at a home near 24th Avenue and 27th Street in Astoria. The NYPD released body-camera footage about two weeks later.
Is the baby OK?
Yes. He was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and has since been released, according to ABC7 New York.
How is CPR different for an infant?
As the officers explained, adult-style compressions are too forceful for a baby, so infant compressions are done with two fingers on the chest. The safest way to learn is a certified infant CPR class, such as those run by the American Red Cross or American Heart Association. In an emergency, always call 911 first.