Memphis Police DUI Officer Anthony Morris is used to saving lives by getting drunk drivers off city streets. But early Friday morning, he saved a life in a much more direct way.
Morris was on patrol around 2 a.m. near American Way and Cherry when he noticed that a woman standing at the driver’s side rear door of a Dodge Charger was flagging him down. As he approached the Charger, he noticed another woman lying in the backseat. That woman was having contractions and going into labor.
Morris called the police communications dispatch and began assisting the pregnant woman with delivery. But as the child emerged, Morris noticed it wasn’t breathing because the umbilical cord was wrapped around its neck. The MPD dispatch and Memphis Fire Department dispatch personnel gave Morris instructions for safely unwrapping the cord and helping the child breathe.
Fire department officials arrived on the scene shortly after and transported the mom and child to Methodist Germantown. The MPD reports that the mother and child are doing just fine.
Morris, who has been with the MPD since 1994, will be nominated for the MPD’s Lifesaving Award.
