Two Temple police officers got more than they bargained for during their early morning shift on Tuesday, Aug. 20.
Officers Justin Busam, 31, and Chris DeRose, 32, were sitting at a red light at Broad and Oxford when a red Cadillac pulled in front of them and a man jumped out of the passenger seat.
“He didn’t say anything until he got to my window,” Busam said in an interview with the Delco Times. “I was kind of alarmed.”
The man told them his girlfriend was having a baby and both officers sprung into action.
The girlfriend, 26-year-old Kamille Young, started going into labor late Monday night, two weeks prior to her due date. Young had checked into Jefferson University Hospital, only 20 blocks away, around 8 p.m. before being sent home.
When her boyfriend came across the officers after midnight, her water had broken and her contractions were immediate.
Busam, a trained EMT, examined Young in the backseat while DeRose gathered supplies like gauze and blankets.
“Once she said the baby was coming out, I knew it was going to happen no matter what we did,” DeRose said to 6 ABC reporters. “We just had to get ready for it.”
Young gave birth to a 6 pound, 8 ounce baby girl at 12:42 a.m. that she named Aamanee.
“I’m sure they were nervous and they were scared,” Busam said. “But once they were able to hear the baby crying and I was able to place the child on her mother’s chest, they were excited.”
The family was immediately taken to Temple University Hospital after Busam notified the paramedics of the smooth delivery.
“I owe them so much,” Young said. “They did such a good job.”
Both Busam and DeRose were able to visit the Youngs at the hospital late Tuesday night to check in and get pictures with the newborn baby.
“Her nickname is Caddy,” Busam said.
Jessica Smith can be reached at jessicasmith@temple.edu
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