Photo: Kevin Earnest. Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza
Kevin Earnest felt a blast of wintry wind and knew he had to act fast.
The Resorts World NYC security officer/emergency medical technician recalls the February 14—Valentine’s Day—incident with remarkable clarity.
Earnest remembered how it began. He heard the call from dispatch squawk over his radio.
“There was a possibly abandoned child in the parking lot,” Earnest, 43, said.
After a mobile unit confirmed that a little girl was alone, crying in the backseat of a car in Section C of the casino’s parking area, Earnest, who has been a state-certified EMT for 16 years, was whisked to tend to the girl.
“I immediately went to the window, saw she was crying,” he said. “I didn’t know how long she was in the vehicle. My concern was hypothermia would set in.”
Hypothermia, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a medical emergency that occurs when your body loses heat faster than it can produce heat, causing a dangerously low body temperature.
Earnest was able to gain the girl’s trust “pretty quickly” he said. He motioned for her to open the lock and the door. Earnest then picked her up and tucked the girl inside the mobility vehicle.
Earnest and the rest of the security team offered her something to drink and a notepad with colored pens to keep her occupied.
“We reassured her that everything would be OK,” Earnest recalled. “She said she wanted her grandma.”
Grandma was Renee Osby, 56, who had left her granddaughter inside the car for approximately 45 mins while she cashed in lotto tickets at the casino.
Osby was subsequently arrested, charged with acting in a manner injurious to a child and released on her own recognizance. She was barred from seeing her grandchild.
“It’s an unfortunate situation,” Earnest said. “But we’re very proactive in our security detail for the abandoned or unoccupied.”
Earnest remembered another incident approximately six months ago at the casino when an older autistic boy was left alone in a vehicle for 30-45 minutes.
Earnest said he relied on his training for both incidents.
“I can react pretty quickly, whereas other individuals might have to take time to process it,” he said.
For acting swiftly, Earnest and three other officers on duty that day recently received awards from RW for going above and beyond the call of duty.
“We’ve never done this before,” said Michelle Stoddart, director of Media Relations at RW. “We thought it was important to highlight their efforts.”
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
