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# "What an investment": Clarksville Officers credit LifeVac for saving choking 3-month-old
- URL: https://www.shayinformed.com/what-an-investment-clarksville-officers-credit-lifevac-for-saving-choking-3-month-old/
- Published: 2026-09-01T16:08:35.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-01T16:08:35.000Z
- Author: Shay McAlister
- Tags: Covering Kentucky

The department first outfitted patrol units with LifeVac devices in October 2024\. Last week, one was credited with saving a baby's life.

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A three-month-old is recovering after Clarksville Police Department officers used a department-issued LifeVac device to clear the child's airway during a choking emergency last week- the kind of call Chief Nathan Walls says rarely makes headlines, but one he's not letting go unnoticed.

According to a release from CPD, officers were dispatched to a call for service on August 29 at approximately 1:55 p.m. involving a choking infant. Both responding officers went to work immediately, delivering back blows to try to clear the child's airway. When that wasn't enough, one of the officers grabbed the department's LifeVac unit- a suction-based airway clearance device- and used it to dislodge the obstruction. The baby began breathing normally and was transported to the hospital.

"These are the calls the public rarely hears about," Chief Walls said in the release. "I am incredibly proud of these officers for how quickly they acted, but I have also come to expect this level of work from my guys."

The department is crediting the outcome not just to fast reflexes, but to equipment CPD has been building out for nearly two years- equipment paid for without costing taxpayers a dime.

CPD first equipped officers with LifeVac devices in October 2024, according to a department social media post at the time. 

"The expectation when these were purchased for our officers was that even if it was used once, it would be worth the investment," the department said in its release. "What an investment it turned out to be."

## A tool, not a substitute

LifeVac devices work as a manual suction apparatus, designed to be used after back blows and abdominal thrusts fail to clear an obstruction- the same escalation CPD officers followed in this call. They've gained traction with police and fire departments nationally in recent years as a backup tool for choking emergencies involving both children and adults.

For now, CPD says the story ends the way departments hope these calls always do: a scared family, a fast response, and a baby breathing normally again.

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