TAMPA, Fla. - A New York-based company donated 300 choking rescue devices to the Tampa Police Department. These devices, called LifeVac, create a one-way suction to remove lodged food or objects from a choking victim.
"This is just another tool for us, especially for our youth, to be out there and provide another opportunity to save a life," Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said of the donation.
The backstory:
Last month, a Tampa police officer used back blows to help save a toddler who was choking on a tomato .
"That's the reason that we're getting this donation," Bercaw said Friday of the bodycam video. "[LifeVac inventor] Mr. Lih saw that video and said, 'I've got to get that product down here in a generous donation.'"
"I knew as a parent, I'd be freaking out. I would be very dist