A late-night dash to Logan Hospital ended in the driveway of Browns Plains Police Station, where a police officer helped deliver baby Lyla in the back seat of a car.
Officers were returning to the station just after midnight on Tuesday 11 August when a man in a red hatchback flagged them down.
His 22-year-old partner was in the back seat in the late stages of labour, with contractions about two minutes apart.
The couple had been heading for Logan Hospital but realised they were not going to make it and instead pulled into the police station for help.
Constable Jenna Ziviani stepped in while a Queensland Ambulance Service emergency medical dispatcher talked her through the delivery by phone.
Seven minutes after police arrived, Lyla was born.
In footage released by Queensland Police following the birth, Constable Ziviani described the experience as “super special”.
“The operator on the phone was amazing too,” she said.
“They talk you through it so calmly.”
She said the dispatcher guided her through each stage of the delivery, including how to support Lyla’s head, neck and shoulders.
Queensland Police Service body-worn camera vision captures the moments immediately afterwards, with the newborn’s cries audible as officers gathered around the car.
Logan District Duty Officer Senior Sergeant Aleisha Young arrived shortly after Lyla was born.
After 27 years in policing, it was the first time she had encountered a birth while on duty.
“This is so good. It’s a celebration,” Senior Sergeant Young can be heard saying in the bodycam footage.
“I just don’t have champagne to offer you … She’s so tiny!”
Paramedics arrived soon afterwards and took the mother and baby to hospital.
Police have since reported both are healthy and recovering at home.
Browns Plains Police Station officer-in-charge Acting Senior Sergeant Cushla Roati told reporters at a media conference on Friday the timing had been extraordinarily fortunate.
“It honestly was, and obviously it was meant to be,” she said.
“They’ve obviously seen the sign for the police station and have thought the police can help them and, yeah, fortunately enough the crew were coming back at the right time.”
Acting Senior Sergeant Roati said she had spoken to the officers afterwards.
“It was a really special moment, honestly,” she said.
“Something that you would never think would happen in your policing career.”
She praised Constable Ziviani for remaining calm in an emergency well outside the usual demands of police work.
“She acted so professionally and calm in that situation,” Acting Senior Sergeant Roati said.
“I think it was a great joint effort with QPS and QAS.”
Acting Senior Sergeant Roati said officers were not specifically trained to deliver babies, but their emergency training had helped them respond.
“While we might not be trained to deliver a baby, they know how to respond to emergency situations and that is remaining calm, calling for assistance where required,” she said.
She met Lyla and her parents on Thursday and said all three were doing well.
Police are hoping the family will eventually return to the station for a reunion with the officers who helped.
For Constable Ziviani and her colleagues, it turned an otherwise routine return to Browns Plains Police Station into a shift they are unlikely to forget.
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