New Year’s baby delivered by police officer responding to 911 call in Massachusetts

Police anticipate crazy 911 calls on New Year’s Day, but things turned surreal for one officer in Agawam, Massachusetts, when he found himself delivering a baby in the middle of the night.

“At approx. 2:45am on New Year ’s Day, Agawam Officer Zack Hall responded to a call for a woman actively in labor,” the department posted on Facebook. “Officer Hall quickly ... helped mom deliver this healthy baby girl. Congratulations, Mom, Dad, and baby Sophia!”

The department posted a photo of Hall holding the newborn in the family’s kitchen. The names of the parents were not released, but the infant was named Sophia, the department said.

Agawam is about 55 miles southwest of Worcester, on the Connecticut state line.

“He (Hall) was literally beaming!” the department wrote. “It was good to see! It’s a nice change— a happy call instead of the usual stuff!”

Among the hundreds of people who have reacted to the department’s post are a lot of Hall’s relatives, including his wife and mother.

“So proud of my oldest son. He officially had his first baby delivery on the job,” Carol Hall posted.

Other commenters underscored the idea that is was perhaps the best way for a police officer to start 2121, after the countless challenges they faced in 2020.

“That’s one great memory. A night you won’t forget,” one man wrote on the department’s Facebook page.

“The smile on Officer Hall’s face says it all — great job!!” another posted.

This story was originally published January 1, 2021 at 11:52 AM with the headline "New Year’s baby delivered by police officer responding to 911 call in Massachusetts."