“I’ve never not had food for my newborn,” Shannon Bird told the television station about her 2:12 a.m. call Jan. 28. “It was really scary for me.”
It was a 911 call that officers had never received before: a Utah mother in desperate need of baby formula for her newborn in the middle of the night. https://t.co/DMBTzzsMVc
— KSL (@KSLcom) February 14, 2020
In a recording of the 911 call, Bird told the dispatcher she had no way to feed her s6-week-old baby, KSL reported.
“I’ve been calling neighbors and no one will answer,” Bird told the dispatcher. “I’ve never been in this predicament ever. My milk just literally dried out. This is my fifth kid and this has never happened.”
Bird said her husband was out of town and her other children were asleep, the television station reported.
"She (baby) was screaming," Bird told KSL. "I called my husband and we were brainstorming. I started calling neighbors and teenagers in the area and my little brother and no one was awake."
Officers from the Lone Peak Police Department came to the rescue, as officer Brett Wagstaff went to a convenience store and bought a gallon of milk, the television station reported.
However, the infant was too young for regular milk, so Wagstaff had to make another trip.
"We'll leave this with you," Wagstaff is heard saying on body-camera footage, KSL reported. as he handed Bird the milk. "We'll be right back with some formula for your baby — she's adorable."
Wagstaff and fellow officer Konner Gabbitas went to a nearby Walmart, bought some formula and refused Bird’s offer to pay them back, the television station reported.
"I was not expecting them to go get that food for me," Bird told KSL.
Dave Ventrano, Lone Peak Police Department’s public information officer, praised the two officers.
"Most of us, we got on this job to help people, and this was an example of helping out a mother that was in need," Ventrano told KSL. "To this mom, this is a priority for her. It's been about protect and serve. This is part of the serve. We are here to serve the public."
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