Person of Interest: Officer Martin Smith

The staff at AMRI honors Officer Martin Smith, an Albuquerque police officer credited with saving the life of a baby girl through CPR. Officer Smith responded to a 9-1-1 call for help from the baby’s mother, Alyssia Rios, when her 7-month old daughter, Karly, was found unresponsive and not breathing.

Upon arriving on the scene, Officer Smith responded by giving the baby a few light breaths and rubbing her chest in an effort to revive her. His efforts were successful. The baby girl was taken to the hospital where she was later diagnosed with a seizure disorder and put on medication to prevent future attacks of this nature.

Because Officer Smith was wearing a lapel camera at the time, the entire rescue was caught on tape, the video of which can be seen here.  As the baby is revived, Officer Smith, who has six grandchildren, can be heard speaking to her in a soothing voice. “Hi baby,” he says, “Hi! How you doing?”

The child’s thankful mother stated, “If it wasn’t for him, who knows what the outcome of the situation could have been. It really comforted me that he helped out so much. I felt relieved.”

Though he is being hailed as one, Officer Smith does not feel that he is a hero. He states that he learned pediatric CPR a long time ago and that his actions were simply second nature. “Anyone who’s had that training would go into autopilot and start responding,” he told reporters.

You can read more about Officer Smith here.