‘He was dead’: Dramatic body camera video shows police saving choking toddler

RIALTO, Calif. —

Body cameras captured the moment that police officers in Rialto, California, rushed to save a choking 3-year-old child.

The Rialto Police Department said the toddler’s mother, Cecilia Rosas, was driving on Aug. 5 when she realized that her son, Matthias, was choking on his vomit and not breathing.

“To me, he was dead,” Rosas said. “It was awful.”

Officers rushed to the 300 block of E. Foothill Boulevard after receiving the mother’s 911 call for help.

“I saw his hand dangling before I even got out of the car. My heart dropped,” Officer Joshua Colorado said.

The police department on Tuesday posted the body camera video recorded during last week’s incident.

Colorado and another officer, Juan Villasenor, immediately started doing anything they could to help the 3-year-old boy, utilizing a LifeVac airway clearance tool to evacuate the vomit.

They successfully cleared the toddler’s airway as the Rialto Fire Department arrived.

Paramedics took the child, who is autistic and nonverbal, to a local hospital, where the child made a full recovery after further evaluation and treatment.

“I thank God that I’m here talking to you and I’m holding my son today,” mother Rosas said when they reunited with the officers. “I’ve been waiting for this moment and really give them a hug and thank them for what they did for my son that day.”