During an August 5th meeting of the Whitpain Township Board of Supervisors, Chief of Police Kenneth Lawson presented Officer Katherine Essenthier with a life-saving award for recently saving an infant from choking.

Officer Essenthier’s life-saving actions were described as follows:

“On July 1st of this year, Officer Essenthier received a 911 call none of us ever want to get. A 10 month old infant was choking and had become unresponsive. Officer Essenthier quickly responded to the scene and found the infant in his mother’s arms, not responding, and not crying. The infant displayed signs of a blocked airway. Without hesitation, and relying on her extensive training, Officer Essenthier began back blows. Eventually, after several back blows, the piece of plastic that was depriving the infant of air was dislodged. The young boy immediately began to breathe and cry.”

Attending the meeting were the infant’s family, who expressed their undying gratitude to Officer Essenthier. The infant’s mother spoke about how she will never forget the Whitpain officer’s actions that day.

Photo: Whitpain Township