Edison cop saves life of 6-day-old baby who stopped breathing

An Edison police officer is being credited for saving the life of a newborn baby girl

EDISON -- A township police officer saved the life of a 6-day-old baby who had stopped breathing and began turning blue.

File Photo

Officer Brian Freund, a 16-year veteran of the force, responded to a home on Rivendell Way last week where he found the 39-year-old father, Babu Gundimada, "crouched on the floor over his then-6-day-old daughter, Jivya, who appeared unable to breathe," according to police in a statement.

The baby had turned blue and was not responding to Gundimada's attempt at CPR, the statement said.

Freund took over and began to administer "gentle chest compressions until the infant began coughing and crying," indicating air was getting back into her lungs, the statement said.

"Saving this newborn's life is an absolute credit to Officer Feund," the township's police Chief Thomas Bryan said in the statement. "It also demonstrates that every dollar we invest in officer-training and the emphasis we place on preparedness and professionalism is time and money well spent."

Freund has been with the department since 2000.

The infant was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick by an Edison Fire Rescue crew and emergency medical technicians from JFK Medical Center.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.