8-year-old boy reunited with El Monte police officers who saved him from choking

8-year-old reunited with cops who saved him

An 8-year-old boy was reunited with the El Monte police officers who saved his life.

EL MONTE, Calif. - An 8-year-old boy who nearly choked to death reunited with a group of El Monte police officers who saved him.

The reunion was held at the El Monte City Hall on June 11 with 8-year-old Ethan Cante and his mom Vanessa being there to present the life-saving award to the El Monte PD officers Raul Vega, Dennis Chiu, Cpl. Carlos Tello. Dispatchers Veronica Chacon and Sandra Gonzalez were also honored Tuesday.

Back on June 3, the responding officers spotted Ethan, who was unresponsive after choking on a piece of candy.

"He was laying down on his back, eyes open, not breaking. You know, it was scary," Vega said in an interview from last week.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Officers save Ethan from possibly choking to death

Body camera footage showed Vega picking up Ethan and brought him to the patrol cruiser. In a previous FOX 11 report, Ethan was not breathing for five minutes.

"He was purple, pale. I freaked out," Vanessa said in last week's interview. "I felt like I was hysterical. We were trying CPR, Compressions, breathing through the mouth. Nothing was working."

Vega's patrol car had a LifeVac, an anti-choking device the officers used to save Ethan's life.

"For sure a miracle, yes," Vanessa said last week. "We were really thankful for the officers who are really quick to respond to us."

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