Officers rescue man choking at Pembroke Pines La Carreta restaurant, video shows
.png "Screen grab of the La Carreta restaurant at 301 N. University Dr. in Pembroke Pines.")
A Pembroke Pines man is enjoying a second chance at life after officers rescued him from choking while eating at a restaurant, according to the Pembroke Pines Police Department.
Surveillance footage from La Carreta — 301 N. University Dr. — shows a male diner stepping out of the restroom and flagging down waitstaff while frantically pointing to his throat on Saturday, Feb. 7, a Feb. 13 PPPD Instagram post shows.
When a small group of employees and customers realized the man was choking, several gathered around him and began life-saving techniques such as back blows and abdominal thrusts.
Officers were alerted and responded in under 2 minutes, the video details, with officer Ed Hooper administering the Heimlich maneuver and back blows to the man until his airway was cleared.
The rescue effort follows PPPD’s recent recall of the LifeVac — a popular anti-choking suction device — from officers following the Food and Drug Administration’s criticism of the brand for forgoing a required review process before selling the device.
“None of our officers ever used the LifeVac devices prior to their recall,” a PPPD spokesperson told the Pembroke Pines News on Feb. 11. “Our officers are trained to utilize abdominal thrusts, back blows, or other life-saving techniques for choking incidents before utilizing any available backup devices.”
Police encourage citizens to attend a free CPR course hosted at the Pembroke Pines Fire Department headquarters — 9500 Pines Blvd. — one Monday a month from 6 to 8 p.m. Registration is required and class sizes are limited to 15 students.
“This Valentine’s Day weekend have a heart and help save someone else’s by signing up for a free CPR class hosted by our partners at @ppinesfd,” the department wrote on its Instagram post.
This story was originally published February 13, 2026 at 4:02 PM.
