Tampa Police get 300 new lifesaving choking devices from New York-based company

TPD receives new lifesaving equipment

Ariel Plasencia reports.

TAMPA, Fla. - A New York-based company donated 300 choking rescue devices to the Tampa Police Department. These devices, called LifeVac, create a one-way suction to remove lodged food or objects from a choking victim.

"This is just another tool for us, especially for our youth, to be out there and provide another opportunity to save a life," Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said of the donation. 

The backstory:

Last month, a Tampa police officer used back blows to help save a toddler who was choking on a tomato. 

"That's the reason that we're getting this donation," Bercaw said Friday of the bodycam video. "[LifeVac inventor] Mr. Lih saw that video and said, 'I've got to get that product down here in a generous donation.'"

"I knew as a parent, I'd be freaking out. I would be very distressed. So I tried to come up with something really simple. You push it, pull it, and that suction pulls it out," LifeVac President and Creator Arthur Lih said. 

These devices will be distributed to officers soon. Bercaw told FOX 13 the devices will be placed in patrol cars and will be used in schools and at Police Athletic League youth activities. 

Dig deeper:

As shown in LifeVac’s online instructional video, the New York-based company said people should first follow choking protocols established by the American Red Cross. That means doing back blows and abdominal thrusts first. And if those actions don’t work – or if those actions cannot be completed for whatever reason – then a LifeVac device can come into play. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) encourages people to follow established choking rescue protocols by the American Red Cross and the American Heart Association. 

In an April 2024 update, the FDA said these protocols do not include anti-choking devices: "The safety and effectiveness of anti-choking devices that are being sold over-the-counter have not been established; they are not FDA approved or cleared."

Success Stories:

Just this week, a Georgia police officer used a LifeVac device to save a driver choking on a water bottle cap.

Years ago, LifeVac devices were placed in every school in Sarasota County.