Video shows police rescue of abducted baby boy from car in Birmingham
The baby was abducted by a man known by his mother but members of the public helped police find and save him.
Friday 14 June 2019 07:36, UK
A video has been released showing police rescuing a five-month baby who had been abducted in Birmingham.
The footage was made public by police after the kidnapper, James Dempsey, from Solihull, was jailed for 27 months at Birmingham Crown Court.
He took the baby boy from a home in Sutton Coldfield in April, and police appealed for help to trace him.
The following night officers intercepted Dempsey's car near Birmingham Airport and lifted the baby from the front passenger seat, placing him on a jacket to check for any injuries.
They then wrapped him in a police fleece to keep him warm, all captured on the officers' bodycams.
The baby's mother Chantelle Forrester said: "I'll forever be grateful to the officers who brought my baby home. He was gone for about 36 hours but it felt like a lifetime."
Dempsey, 35, was known by Ms Forrester and had stayed at the address the night before he took the baby.
In court on Thursday he admitted child abduction, failing to stop for police, dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking, theft and motoring offences.
West Midlands Police Chief Inspector Ian Ingram said: "Despite the commotion − with blue lights flashing and sirens blaring − the baby stayed remarkably calm throughout the ordeal and only cried when officers started cleaning him up.
"The video shows the human side of policing... caring for a little baby with compassion and tenderness just moments after a dynamic pursuit. It was such a relief we were able to reunite mum and son."