Crime & Safety

Officer, Dispatchers Credited With Saving Child

The police chief is praising Officer Robert Tusino—a paramedic—and Dispatchers Kim St. Amant and Rebecka LaPierre for their life-saving actions last week.

A police officer and two dispatchers are being praised for saving a 14-month-old boy's life after getting a 911 call made challenging by a slight language barrier and confusion over the family's address.

Chief Thomas O'Loughlin issued a press release this weekend, lauding Tusino—who also works as a paramedic in Worcester—and dispatchers Kim St. Amant and Rebecka LaPierre for their response to the 4:25 p.m. call on Thursday, Feb. 10.

Tusino and Officer Edward Varteresian were the first to arrive at 28 Front St. Thursday, after the caretaker of an Ecuadorian boy called to report the child wasn't breathing. By performing back blows, Tusino, who had just come off off a paramedic shift at UMass, dislodged what was believed to be a hot dog from the boy's throat.

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"I gave him a couple of really good hits on the back, in between his shoulder blades," Tusino said today at the station. "You could hear the escape of air...and I got something out of his mouth. They said it was a hot dog; I thought it was a piece of apple, but it doesn't matter. The second it came out, you could hear him screaming, and he pinked right up [the color returned to his face.]"

The handles dispatch services for both the police and fire departments. Amant, who was dispatching for the that night, took the call.

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Though the caller—described by Tusino as a caretaker for the child—spoke English, there was some difficulty understanding her. Once Amant learned that the emergency was in the first floor apartment of 28 Front St., she notified the Fire Department. Meanwhile, LaPierre called Tusino, who went directly to the address.

Fire officials, however, said they didn't believe there was a 28 Front St, as evidenced by a police recording of the call. This led Amant to confirm the address several more times with the caller, who repeatedly stated that she was at 28 Front St., Apt. 1. Tusino arrived, and the woman flagged him down. He had dislodged the piece of food from the boy's throat when the Fire Department and an ambulance arrived.

"I had hit him hard; I was concerned," Tusino said. "I met the paramedics and they took him to the hospital. He's bruised but nothing is broken."

A Milford native and resident, Tusino has been a paramedic for 20 years. He was also an officer in New York City, returning to Milford about four years ago to be a cop in his hometown.

He noted that every police officer receives first responder training, which includes basic first aid, CPR and obstructed airway training.

O'Loughlin however, sees Tusino's latest lifesaving effort as another in a long list since he has joined the department.

“Robbie Tusino has worked miracles in the past utilizing his skills and abilities as a paramedic to save people’s lives; today, he once again commendably demonstrated these skills and saved the life of a young child," he said in a written release.

O'Loughlin also noted that St. Amant and LaPierre "are to be commended for their professionalism during a very stressful situation; their actions are worthy of a commendation for they too resulted in this child’s life being saved."

The incident is also a reminder to Tusino of a fact that has long frustrated him—though he is trained as a paramedic, he can't utilize his advanced life support skills without working under an ALS provider's license. In short, current law doesn't let him function as a paramedic if he's not working out of a vehicle that's licensed as an ambulance.

So, if the boy had required drugs, not only would he have been unable to administer them, he can't even carry them.

Furthermore, Milford is one of the only towns in the region that doesn't have a Fire Department-operated ambulance service. Tusino said he and Firefighter Billy Collins (who is, incidentally, his cousin) are the only paramedics in town but they can't use those skills here.

"I love both jobs so much," Tusino said, referring to his full-time job as a police officer and part-time gig (8-20 hours) in Worcester as a paramedic. "I don't see why I can't do both. You're talking about saving lives."


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