Makeshift Midwife: Officer delivers baby while waiting for ambulance

LIND — A sergeant with the Adams County Sheriff’s Department took on the role of midwife in the line of duty Sunday, helping to deliver a baby that could not wait for an ambulance en route, according to the department’s Facebook page.

Sergeant Ben Buriak and Washington State Patrol Trooper Ross Tylock responded to a call for a 39-year-old woman on West Third Street in Lind who was eight and a half months pregnant and having contractions.

Emergency Medical Services were headed to the location from Ritzville, but the baby had its own plans. While Buriak and Tylock were attempting to calm the mother-to-be, she advised she was giving birth then and there.

But the responding officers were prepared; still in the residence, Buriak assisted in delivering the baby. The newborn began to cry and was swaddled in blankets.

The mom and her baby were monitored by Buriak and Tylock until EMS arrived and took the pair to East Adams Rural Hospital.

“This is one of those amazing opportunities we have to serve, the sheriff’s department said in a statement Sunday. “My hat is off to Sergeant Buriak and Trooper Tylock for their amazing response.”

Emry Dinman can be reached via email at edinman@columbiabasinherald.com.