Rialto Officers Help Save Choking 3-Year-Old, Bodycam Video Shows

RIALTO, Calif. — Newly published body-camera video shows Rialto police officers using an airway-clearance device to help a choking 3-year-old breathe again during a roadside medical emergency.

ABC7 Los Angeles reported Tuesday that the child’s mother called 911 on Aug. 5 after realizing while driving that her son was choking on vomit and was not breathing. She pulled over in the 300 block of East Foothill Boulevard and sought help.

Officers use lifesaving airway device

Responding officers used a LifeVac airway-clearance device to remove the obstruction and restore the boy’s breathing, ABC7 reported. The station said the footage shows the child regain consciousness after the device was used.

Rialto Fire Department paramedics then took the boy to a local medical center for further care. Officials said he made a full recovery.

Hospital reunion captured on bodycam

The body-camera footage also documented the officers’ reunion with the child and his mother at the hospital. ABC7 reported that she thanked an officer and described seeing her son respond after the airway device was used.

In a statement quoted by ABC7, the Rialto Police Department said the response showed the value of equipping first responders with lifesaving tools and training for critical medical emergencies. The department credited the officers’ quick action and the care provided by fire personnel with helping bring the emergency to a positive conclusion.

ThinBlueNews is not naming the child or adding any diagnosis or medical detail beyond the source report. Readers can find more source-backed service stories in our police news, police hero stories and positive police news sections.

Source and visual disclosure

• ABC7 Los Angeles — “Rialto officer jumps into action to save choking 3-year-old boy, dramatic bodycam video shows,” published Aug. 11, 2026.

Visual note: ABC7’s report includes body-camera video and publisher imagery. ThinBlueNews did not copy those pixels because no reusable license was established. The featured image is an original editorial card, not an incident photograph or body-camera frame.

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