New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
“On Saturday, Massachusetts State Troopers and members of the Dartmouth Police Department and and Bristol County Sheriff’s Office enjoyed meeting community members at a Family Fun Day held by Hope Evangelical Community Church.
State Police participation in the event was coordinated by Trooper Jesse Walker, the Department’s Community Liaison for Troop D. Event organizers provided 100 backpacks and school supplies, along with free back-to-school haircuts, to children in attendance. Visitors were treated to plenty of food and entertainment.
Something very special also happened.
One of the visitors, a 9-year-old girl named Amiyah, told Dartmouth Police Officers Cristina Blume and Amanda Tavares that she, too, wants to be a police officer when she grows up.
Massachusetts State Police photo.
That is Amiyah’s dream, she told the Officers, because when she was born, the New Bedford Police Officer who delivered her possibly saved her life in her first moments out of the womb. The Officer removed the umbilical cord that was wrapped around her neck, a complication that, although not extremely uncommon, can potentially cause strangulation or other birth injuries.
Amiyah’s grandmother showed Officers a news article that mentioned the heroic actions of the New Bedford Officer. His name, the article noted, was Nathan Monteiro.
Hearing that piece of information was a “wow” moment for the Troopers attending the family day. That’s because they realized that the former New Bedford Officer had, in the years since, joined the Massachusetts State Police.
Trooper Nate Monteiro is a member of the MSP’s Recruitment and Diversity unit, whose assignment involves making connections with the people and communities the MSP serves. One of the Troopers at the event called him at home, and told him what had happened at the event.
For all the people he has met through his assignment with the MSP, including hundreds of children, Nate Monteiro had never since seen the little girl he had kept safe as he brought her into the world during a complicated delivery nine years ago. So he left his house and went to the Church.
There, at the Church family day, Nate got to see her again. He and Amiyah hugged and spoke quietly to each other for a bit. There was, after all, nine years of catching up to do.
For Amiyah, it was the first time she laid eyes on the police officer who made sure she is here today to pursue her dreams. Then it must have got a little dusty out there at the Church, because a lot of people had to start wiping their eyes.” -Massachusetts State Police.
