Officer Honored for Protecting Baby

An officer called out on a complaint about a woman yelling profanities in the street is being honored after he helped to rescue a baby who was left alone last month while the mother was drinking.

Master Patrol Officer Joshua Small was patrolling in the 1200 block of 21st Avenue West when he heard a woman shouting profanities at people. Small approached the woman, Brittney Fred, and notices  as he got closer to her that she was intoxicated and holding a butcher knife. After being ordered several times, Fred finally dropped the knife.

Once she was detained, Small located a baby bag near her with formula and fresh diapers. Neither Small nor back-up officers were able to locate a child. When asked about a child, Fred continued to be argumentative and hostile and she refused to discuss the child's location.

After officers spoke to several people in the area they discovered that an 8-month-old baby was inside a nearby residence and that  Fred had left her inside while she was hanging out with people outside and drinking heavily.

Officers found the baby in a dark room without supervision, sitting unrestrained in a car carrier on top of a bed. The baby was dirty and hungry. Officers bouth a bottle from a nearby store so that they could feed the infant.

In recommending Small for officer of the month, Sergeant Shane Shehorn said that Small " went above and beyond in this case" and he should be recognized for his continued dedication to his profession.

"He could have simply told the woman to quiet down and drove on," Shehorn said. "Instead he took the time to get out with her and look into the incident further. His actions led to the location of an 8-month-old-baby girl who was not being cared for. MPO Small is directly responsible for the health and well-being of the baby and through his actions, he possibly prevented serious harm from taking place."