The Golden Minutes: How Deputy Shawn Gopaul Saved a Life in the Face of the Unknown

In the high-stakes world of law enforcement, a “routine call” can transform into a life-defining moment in a matter of seconds. For Deputy Shawn Gopaul of the Pageland Police Department in South Carolina, that moment arrived in late October 2020. Responding to a frantic emergency call regarding an unresponsive infant, Gopaul arrived on the scene to find every parent’s worst nightmare: a baby who had stopped breathing.

With the ambulance still minutes away, Gopaul did not wait for specialized equipment or medical backup. Recognizing that the child was in the throes of a life-threatening crisis, he immediately dropped to his knees and began performing pediatric CPR. These critical “golden minutes”—the time between the cessation of breathing and the arrival of advanced life support—are often where a life is either won or lost.

The tension of the scene was compounded by the invisible threat of the era. After paramedics arrived and transported the child to a facility in Monroe, North Carolina, and eventually Charlotte, the diagnosis came back: the infant was suffering from COVID-19. At a time when the world was gripped by fear of the virus, Gopaul had performed mouth-to-mouth and chest compressions without a second thought for his own safety.

While the deputy was forced into a precautionary quarantine, the story reached a joyous conclusion. The infant survived, was released from the hospital, and was cleared for a full recovery. Gopaul eventually tested negative for the virus, but his department and the local community remained moved by his selflessness. His actions serve as a powerful testament to the true role of a first responder: to be the calm in the center of a storm, providing the bridge of hope until a miracle can take over.