Sheriff's Department Honors Officer Who Saved Toddler in Rossmoor

After getting off from police work at John Wayne Airport, Orange County Sheriff’s Department Special Officer Darrin Mills took his 6-year-old son to a Boy Scout event at Rush Park in Rossmoor.  While waiting in line with his son for a hamburger, Mills heard a man screaming for help.  

Instantly, Mills dropped his lunch and sprang into action to see if he could help. From where the cries for help were coming from, he found a 3-year-old boy choking, with his father frantically calling for help.

"I checked the child's mouth for the obstruction but couldn't find it.  His eyes were wide open, but he was not breathing," Mills said. "I started to try and clear his airway, but that didn't help.  His father was putting his fingers down his throat, but I had to tell him to stop because it could push the obstruction down further."

A crowd had gathered, and Mills was calling out for them to call 911.

According to the report issued by the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Mills delivered a series of back thrusts and turned the boy back over to reassess.  The boy was turning blue, and it appeared that he was dying.

However, Mills stayed calm and switched over to stomach thrusts to dislodge the foreign substance from the boy’s throat.  Suddenly, a thick paste came from the boy’s mouth, and just before paramedics arrived, the boy began breathing again.

For saving the boy’s life, Mills was honored Thursday with a Medal for Lifesaving at the Orange County Sheriff's Department’s annual Medal of Valor luncheon. Mills was one of 18 sheriff’s officers honored Thursday for acts of courage and bravery and for saving a life.

"It was a sigh of relief.  This whole event isn't about me; its about that boy," Mills said.  "No circumstances can compare to saving a life."

After paramedics arrived, Mills’ next concern was his own 6-year-old son.

"He's still only 6, and he saw me beating on this boy’s chest,” said Mills. “He was freaking out."

Fellow officers such as Jason Aguirre said Mills is known for his calm under pressure.

“He sets an exemplary, high standard,” said Aguirre. “He is respectful, honorable and always willing to help others.”

Mills is the person that Aguirre turns to for guidance, he said.

"He's a guy who is afraid of nothing, willing to do anything,” said Special Officer Kent Wu, who works with Mills at the airport. “He has eminent confidence from his time in the military."

A 3-year-old boy and his family are certainly thankful that Mills was there that Tuesday, willing to answer a father's call for help.

“It is a difficult thing for me to think about, but the basic fact is that you stepped up when no one else did or maybe could,” said the boy’s father, according to a statement by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.