AMERICAN POLICE BEAT: JUNE 2017 25 You hear it all the time. “Cops aren’t mental health professionals or doctors or social workers.” While that might be true, technically speaking, there are a ton of officers, deputies and troopers that manage to do things like deliver babies, handle emotionally dis- turbed persons and defuse potentially violent family disputes. In Pennsylvania, for in- stance, two cops helped deliver a baby in the back of the parents’ car recently. Jayce, thanks to two of- ficers, is the newest edition to the Diaz family. “It just felt crazy. It was like a whirlwind. Like a movie. I just never thought this would happen to us,” Jennifer Diaz of Quakertown, Pa. said. It was close to mid- night when Jennifer knew it was time to go the hospital. The contractions were in- tense. Jennifer and her husband, Matt, got in the car and headed towards Doylestown Hospital. They were in the car for just five minutes when Jenni- fer’s water broke. “She said, ‘My wa- ter broke.’ And she started to scream and I’ve never heard her scream like this before and she said, ‘He’s coming, he’s coming, he’s coming.’ So I called 911 and pulled over in a parking lot,” Matt said. Enter Officer Robert Compton of Bedminster Township police and Chief Brian Lehman of Dublin Borough. These are the guys you hope and pray are around for this kind of thing. “I knew it was imminent immediately when the baby was crowning. This was defi- nitely going to happen and the ambulance wasn’t going to get here,” Chief Lehman said. “She had pushed at one point and the head then came out and then after a few minutes, then had pushed more, and the baby came out. I literally had to catch it,” Officer Compton told ABC 16 News. “Officer Compton came out and he laid Jayce on her chest. He said, ‘Well, I guess this is a good time to introduce myself. My name is Bob. Congratulations.’ So it was awesome,” Matt said. The Diaz family couldn’t be more grateful. “Very thankful,” an un- derstandably exhausted Jen- nifer said. When Matt, Jennifer, and Jayce were loaded safely in the ambulance and off to the hospital, the two cops got a coffee. They had a minute or two to discuss the thrill of helping deliver a baby before they went back to work. Cops make special delivery Officer Robert Compton of Bedminster Township Police and Chief Brian Lehman of Dublin Borough and Jayce. JOIN TODAY… DON’T DELAY! THE FINEST LEGAL DEFENSE PROTECTING YOU FROM CIVIL, CRIMINAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INCIDENTS Phone Consultation Program, Cancer Care Coverage, Vision Coverage, University Tuition, Car Rentals and Discounts, Pre-paid Legal Program, Group Term Life Insurance, Directors and Officers Liability, Union Liability, Group AD&D, and Fidelity Bonds. ™ Duty-Related Civil, Criminal and Administrative Incidents ™ After Hours Answering Service for Critical Incidents ™ $5,000 Accidental Death & Dismemberment Included [24/7, on or off duty] ™ Plan A-HR-218 Legal Defense Coverage Included ™ Team Legal Defense Program for Union Members and Locals FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT Leslie McMahon, Executive Director 800-367-4321, ext. 1010 or lesliem@plea.net P.O. Box 1197 Troy, MI 48099-1197 THE FINEST LEGAL DEFENSE PROTECTION AVAILABLE ADDITIONAL BENEFITS AVAILABLE: TO ENROLL IN LEGAL DEFENSE CALL: 1-800-367-4321 WWW.PLEA.NET FOLLOW US ON: @ProfessionalLawEnforcementAssociation