By:Jeff Lipton
Police Officer Ray Navarra said saving a 3-year-old Inwood boy from certain death last week is all part of the job.
Navarra and his partner, Officer Brian O'Connor, rescued the boy from asphyxiation by cutting a plastic wire he had accidentally wrapped around his neck in his home.
Absolutely, that's why a lot of us take the job, just to do that, Navarra said of saving lives. That's why we're out here. We were glad to help them out.
O'Connor said, Obviously, this is the best part of being an officer. It's the nice part because people say Thank you' to us as opposed to being mad at us.
The Fourth Precinct officers and the family of Dominic Tavella have an Automatic Electronic Defibrillator kit to thank. The kit, which has been made available to all officers on patrol to shock a victim's heart when it stops beating, comes equipped with a pair of heavy-duty scissors. The officers used the shears to cut into the thick wire, allowing the boy to start breathing again.
Another few moments and the child could have been dead, said Insp. George Gudmundsen, commanding officer of the Fourth Precinct.
The officers were able to save his life, he said. There's nothing more satisfying for an officer than to save someone's life, especially when it's a child's life.
The incident began at 9:45 a.m. Monday, June 11, when O'Connor and Navarra received an emergency call at 20 Healy Ave. Carmella Tavella, 27, had found her son on the floor of the den with the wire around his neck. The boy, who was home alone with his mother, had strayed into a room where his father kept computer equipment, officials said.
The boy desperately tried to loosen the wire but the harder he pulled, the tighter it got around his neck, officials said.
The woman picked up a cuticles scissors and tried feverishly to loosen the tie by cutting through the plastic but was unsuccessful.
He put it around his neck, and in this fashion it could be quite deadly, Gudmundsen said.
Navarra said, It was a pretty tense moment. The child was blue already. He wasn't able to breathe. His eyes were popping out of his head.
Dominic's airways were completely closed and he had been in that state for several minutes, the inspector said.
O'Connor and Navarra grabbed the scissors from the portable defibrillator kit and cut through the plastic, opening up the boy's airways.
Dominic was then rushed to South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, where he was listed in stable condition, officials said. Dominic was then transferred to Winthrop-University Hospital, where he was held for observation for about four days before he was released, Navarra said.
I would say that if we had not gotten there when we did, maybe 15 seconds more and he would have been gone, Navarra said. He was blue to the point that he was almost purple. At one point, he went out on us and he wasn't breathing anymore.
The officers visited Dominic at his home on Sunday, June 17, where he was said to be doing fine.
The parents were very thankful, Navarra said. They were elated. The father was happy that we got there as quickly as we did. It's a good feeling to know that everything worked out well.
The portable kits were made standard equipment about a year ago so officers can shock victims of cardiac arrest.
For their quick actions, the officers have been recommended to receive commendations, Gudmundsen said.
We will be submitting a report for departmental recognition with an eye toward getting an award from the department.
All the men and women of the Fourth Precinct are proud of the great work done by officers O'Connor and Navarra, he said.
What strikes me is that when I talk to both cops, they are two good, hard-working guys who are just doing their job.
The inspector described the officers, both of whom are eight-year veterans, as extremely active cops who have made a number of arrests. They are two of the best the precinct has to offer.
