Police officer smashes window, performs CPR on doll
The lifelike ‘newborn’ doll confused the officer, who rushed to respond to a 911 call about an infant trapped in a hot car
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A police officer administered emergency CPR on what he thought was an infant trapped in a hot car turned out to be a life-like doll.
Lieutenant Jason Short responded to a 911 call about a baby left alone in a car parked near a Walmart in Keene, New Hampshire.
In the car he saw a motionless baby with a blanket and a bottle.
He smashed the window with his baton to save the infant. The CPR, however, did not work. He checked for an obstructed airway and called for an ambulance.
“And I went to put my finger in its mouth and it was all resistance,” he said to WMUR-TV. “And I’m like, ‘This is a doll.’”
Carolynne Seifert, the doll’s owner, said she bought it for $2,000 as a way to cope after the loss of her son who died in 2005 from Hunter’s disease.
The dolls can cost between $30 and thousands of dollars. They are painted to have a life-like, veiny look, with human hair and filled with pellets to simulate the weight of a real baby.
“I’ve been laughed at and embarrassed by all the fuss,” Ms Seifert told WMUR. “You can’t know how people choose to deal with their losses in life.”
Psychiatrist Gail Saltz wrote in Today in 2008: “For some women, such a transitional object eases them into ways of finding more external methods of dealing with their needs of caretaking and loving a being who loves them back.
“It is the concretised fantasy of getting unconditional love.”
Keene's police chief, Brian Costa, told the Union Leader that he suported Mr Short’s actions, but that the police would pay to fix Ms Seiffert’s broken window.
So far this year, 27 children have died from heatstroke after being left in cars, according to a database from the department of meteorology and climate science at the San Jose State University. There have been 688 such deaths since 1998.
Ms Seiffert agreed to put a custom sticker on her car window to prevent any future misunderstandings.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments