An 11-year-old girl reunited with the police officer who saved her life when she was a baby. The man she calls her hero has inspired her to one day become a nurse.
Torrance police Sgt. Michael Chance described the moments of that day.
"Just pure panic," he said. "It really was just absolute panic. We heard the call go out for a baby not breathing. I was working and I came home in the middle of the night and she was just completely blue in her crib."
Sunny Barkley was only a year old but she knows the story of how her mother found her not breathing.
"She saw my face was purple and she woke up my dad and called the cops," said Sunny.
Chance, who had been on the Torrance police force for just over a year, was one of the first responders that night.
"Training just kicks in," he said. "First aid, CPR training kicks in. You start doing what you have been trained to do."
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Said Sunny's mother, Denise Mutters: "They ran right in. I didn't even have to say anything they just went to it. They knew what to do."
Sunny started breathing on her own again and her color went back to normal.
"It wasn't like a full gasp," said Mutters. "It was a slow color back, breathing back, pulse back."
Although she was too young to remember what happened, the story has inspired Sunny to pursue a career in health care.
"I can help people and save them," said Sunny.
Added Mutters: "She's always just been a natural helper herself."
Chance said he appreciated that they were at the right place at the right time.
"Everything would be so different if they weren't there that night," said Mutter. "I couldn't thank him enough. There's just not enough words."
