Akron Fire Dept. EMS trainer re: responding to choking infants: Don't worry about breaking the baby's bones or cracking its ribs -- and a question for criminal attorneys

Clip via How to save a life: Help someone who is choking by Adrienne DiPiazza, FOX 8 News Cleveland, February 13, 2018:



Transcript at about time stamp :35:

DiPiazza: (The Akron Fire Department's Lt. Joe) Shumaker says don’t be afraid of hurting the baby, and forceful motions are the only thing that will help them breathe again.

Shumaker: “Can you cause some injury? Can you break a bone? Can you crack a rib? Perhaps, but in the end run the child will be breathing which is what we want as a result,” he said.

I have an inquiry in to the Akron Fire Department and will report the results.

Tangentially related, one of my research interests is tracking child abuse cases involving the alleged use of the Heimlich maneuver as an alibi.

I've compiled a number of media reports in which defendants claimed that severe or fatal injuries sustained by a baby or child in their care resulted from the adult supposedly responding to a choking emergency.

I shared my research with reporter Justin Strawser at the Sunbury, PA Daily Item who reported this November 13, 2015 story, Suspects often claim abuse injuries stem from CPR, Heimlich effort.

Here's a question for any criminal attorneys reading this: Can Lt. Shumaker's advice benefit a defendant in such a case?

Click here to e-mail me.