Scranton police Officer Lindsey Dippre was patrolling West Scranton when the report came through — there was a woman in labor, alone, with the next-door neighbor trying to get inside her home to assist.
Dippre had never delivered a baby before, but its something she’s always wanted to do.
“I was going down Luzerne Street when the call came in for a woman in labor on Jackson Street,” she said. “So, I whipped around in the Burger King parking lot and flew up there because I wanted to be there first.”
When she arrived at the scene at about 5:30 p.m. on Friday, a neighbor was jumping up and down, waving Dippre down and directing her to the residence.
Dippre hurried into the house, where she found the baby nearly delivered.
A neighbor was trying to help but said she really didn’t know what she was doing.
Dippre grabbed the baby just out of the birth canal, careful not to drop him.
“Babies are slippery when they’re born,” she said.
Dippre determined that the baby was breathing and ran a gloved finger through his mouth to clear it.
She knew fire and medical crews were on the way and simply held the baby, ensuring he was breathing.
It was then that the baby did something Dippre will always remember.
The baby reached up and held on to her pinky.
“It was really cute,” she said. “It was super cute.”
When emergency responders arrived, Dippre wiped the baby off, determining it was a boy.
Emergency medical personnel cut the umbilical cord, and mother and baby were transported to a hospital by ambulance.
Before the end of her shift, Dippre visited the mom and baby boy in the hospital and both were doing well.
Dippre wasn’t specifically trained to deliver babies. She’s not a mom, but said having “a lot of babies in the family” prepared her to assist in the delivery.
“I have babies around me all the time,” said Dippre.
The incident and police response were reminders that policing goes beyond responding to crimes and making arrests, Dippre said.
“We’re here to help people, not just arrest them and take them to jail,” she said. “I’m sure the woman was so alone and scared. I’m sure she felt so relieved when she saw police and medical responders there to help.”
Prepared for anything
Police Chief Thomas Carroll has never delivered a baby, and only remembers three such instances in his nearly 30-year career.
He wasn’t surprised by Dippre’s quick thinking and response.
“So much of our job, you can’t prepare or train for everything that comes your way. You just have to remain levelheaded, stick with the fundamentals of lifesaving skills,” Carroll said. “She’s not a doctor, but look what happened — we worked our way through this.”
Like Dippre, Carroll emphasized that much of a police officer’s job goes beyond responding to or preventing crime.
“I know the public doesn’t see it often,” he said. “But every day officers are assisting the community,”
Much of those community relationships depend on trust.
“Our officers engage with the public in a nonenforcement manner far more than in a ‘strictly business’ way,” he said. “The community is the Police Department.”
It’s just a matter of officers being out in the community and caring about people, he said.
“That goes a long way,” Carroll said.
The International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 60, of Scranton posted on Facebook about the delivery.
“Crews ensured care until the Pennsylvania Ambulance crew arrived to take Mom and baby to the hospital,” the post stated. “Not every day do we get to be on such a special call. Wishing Mom and baby a long and healthy life.”