06 July 2009 When a man began banging on a restaurant window to get Police officers' attention on Thursday night they initially thought they had a domestic on their hands, little did they know that in minutes they would be assisting with the delivery of a baby.
Raglan Constables Raewyn McLachlan and Jason Kahika were enjoying a well earned meal at a Hamilton Burger King shortly before midnight when events unfolded. "A man began banging on the window and I thought; 'here we go - it's a domestic' but when we went out into the car park a woman was in the front seat with about to arrive," said Raewyn. "Jason jumped into the back seat and was coaching mum and talking to a medical person via comms while dad was at the business awaiting the baby's arrival. He (Jason) told her to squeeze his hand during contractions and it got a pretty good wringing out. While this was going on Raewyn was coordinating with Burger King staff the supply of materials that would ensure a clean area for the baby's arrival. "We didn't want the baby arriving in the car's footwell," she said.
While other staff converged on the scene a road worker set up cones and flashing lights around the car to ensure the area was secure and the Raglan duo say the baby's safe delivery was a real team effort. Te Kuiti couple Lianne and Gavin Smith's 3.4kg baby Ariana was delivered safe and well by the team, afterwards one of the officer's drove the family's car to Waikato Hospital while the other travelled in the ambulance. From there the Raglan officers returned home, completing what for them had been a more eventful shift than usual. End