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Off-duty Calif. cop saves drowning boy

Officer Curtis Shurtliff came to the rescue and performed CPR for 30 minutes

By Police1 Staff

CLOVIS, Calif — A California police officer is being hailed as a hero after saving a young boy’s life.

According to Fox26, Corporal Curtis Shurtliff was on vacation with his family when he says a woman named Nancy found 5-year-old Gabriel face down in the water.

Shurtliff, a former paramedic, tried to revive him but it looked like a lost cause.

“I literally flipped him over and squeezed his chest and his abdomen and everything together and about a gallon of water came out,” Shurtliff told Fox26.

He performed CPR and chest compressions for 30 minutes.

“I looked at his mom who was standing there the whole time holding his hand, I go, ‘What is his name?’ she says Gabriel and I said ok. I said, ‘Do you believe in God and Jesus Christ as your savior?’ and she said yes, I said, you need to pray..they finished and I said, in Jesus’ name I pray and I stopped the compressions. I reached down and I felt a pulse,” says Shurtliff.

The boy was then airlifted to a local hospital for treatment, according to yourcentralvalley.com.

“I’ve never seen anybody survive 30 minutes of CPR,” Shurtliff said. “This child was dead for 30 minutes.”

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