Above and beyond the call of duty.
Two Beverly Hills security guards are being hailed as heroes after they saved a choking baby who was “turning blue” last week.
Officers Niko Nesbeth and Joey Madrigal, who work for Covered 6 Security in California, were at a gas station on Friday when a mother began to yell in search of help.
Nesbeth, a US Marine who served for eight years, had been in line buying a snack at the convenience store before he ran out of the store to grab the child, according to surveillance footage.
“My partner hears the actual mother come outside the vehicle screaming ‘who’s a doctor,’ he runs around, by the time that happens, the mother already throws the baby into my arms,” Nesbeth told Fox11 of the terrifying ordeal.
As soon as her son is handed off to the officer, the distressed mother kneeled down away from the action, as several people help Nesbeth work to free the child’s throat.
“I noticed, looking into the baby’s face the baby was turning blue. You could tell his colors were changing, so I knew he was choking and wasn’t getting air,” Nesbeth continued.
While Nesbeth was working on the child, Madrigal, who was recently hired by the security agency, was working to get paramedics to the scene.
“(Nesbeth) tells me the baby isn’t breathing, right then and there I turned and one thing I’ve learned in training is that you’ve got to slow down time,” Madrigal said, recalling the situation. “You got to realize and just get all the facts and put it all together because I was in charge of getting rescue as fast as possible.”
Madrigal was able to contact the paramedics through a direct line Covered 6’s offices have with police specifically for instances like the one last Friday, who arrived within minutes of the call.
“A baby not breathing requires immediate attention and like Niko said, he had to just revert back to his training and take action and his actions saved that baby’s life,” Covered 6 manager Justin Rovtar told Fox11.
Even after all he has done in the past, Nesbeth was proud to be able to help the community he serves.
“It was like the best feeling, to feel that way, to help assists a community, especially a little child, that’s amazing,” Nesbeth said.
The security guards said the baby was ok after the ordeal.
“Good job to my fellow security officers! These are crazy times so we need all the safety and security we can get,” one person commented on YouTube.
“Respect! They saved that babies life. Thank you for your service,” another commenter wrote.
“TWO great young men! Thank you officers!,” said a third.
Covered 6 is a private security company contracted by the city of Beverly hills is headquartered in Moorpark, California with officers from law enforcement, military, legal community and corporate security backgrounds.