Chicago Police Officer Saves Choking Toddler

Christopher Elliott was filling out a report near a gas station when the child's father ran up and asked for help

Police Officer Christopher Elliott is being called a hero Thursday morning for saving a choking toddler.

Elliott, of the 14th District, was completing a traffic crash report around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday on the corner of Diversey and Western near a gas station when a man ran up to his car, tapped on the window and asked the officer for help with his toddler.

Officer Elliott ran to the van and found the mother holding the 15-month-old child, who was not breathing.

"They were trying to get [the child] to respond," said gas station attendant Lee Pierce. "And then the police came and then they turned it upside down and kind of patted it on its back ... and it seemed like he was coming out of it a little bit."

"I feel really good. At least I kept the baby alive," Elliott said, "and [the child is] theirs to, you know, enjoy for a long time."

Elliott says he used the skills he learned in the police academy and the military and from high school to save the toddler.

An ambulance took the child to Children's Memorial Hospital, where he got a chest X-ray and is in good condition.

Elliott said the parents were very appreciative, shook his hand and thanked him for saving their baby's life.

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