Argo police officer assists in 2 roadside baby delivers in 5 days
Talk about being in the right place at the right time. An Argo police officer delivered two babies within a few days. ABC 33/40 found out the officer's old job came in handy.
Argo Police Sgt. Mike Jennings has had his fair share of time behind the wheel. Some years, he was saving lives. Others, he was protecting lives. But in the past week, he has helped get a couple lives started.
"Like I said before, the women did all of the work. We just stood there. That is basically what we do," said Jennings, who helped a woman deliver a baby a little more than a week ago in the Jack's parking lot on Liles Lane.
"The first one was a whole lot easier. We gave support, did what we were supposed to do and made sure the mother was taken care of," he said. "That was pretty much it."
Five days later, he would help with another roadside delivery, this time on the side of an Interstate 59 on-ramp.
"I got there to catch and that was about it," Jennings said. "She pushed twice and she was done. We had a baby boy in hand. So it was pretty quick."
The father of two spent a decade working as an EMT before making the move to law enforcement, and it was his experience from his old job that helped him twice turn Johnny on the spot. He said he helped deliver three babies during his time as a paramedic.
"In a police car, you have nothing. You don't have any medical equipment. You have your knowledge and that is it," said Jennings.
While the recent roadside arrivals of life will never compare to the experience of welcoming his own children to the world, Jenning said, they will be memories he won't soon forget.
"I have been here 12 years and that hasn't happened. Within in five days, it is pretty spectacular," he said.
