Kashanna Legette, who was 38 weeks pregnant, had been napping when she suddenly felt a pop. Moments later, her water broke. It was Feb. 13, and the 22-year-old Bronx mother quickly realized her baby was coming far sooner than she’d expected. By the time she’d made it downstairs outside her ap artment building that evening, her contractions were intense and close together. There would be no making it to the hospital. As the situation grew more urgent, Legette’s sister spotted a police cruiser parked nearby and took off running. Within moments she returned with officers from the NYPD’s 42nd Precinct, who rushed over just as Legette realized it was already time to push. A discarded couch — sitting near the sidewalk — was hardly ideal, but there was no time to think about that. Legette climbed onto it. “It was either that or on the ground,” Legette tells TODAY.com. Kashanna Legette with her newborn daughter, Zenovia Remy. Legette is also mom to 6-year-old son, Zymere. Courtesy Kashanna Legette The officers quickly stepped in, surrounding her and coaching her through the delivery— telling her when to breathe and when to push. One officer stood near her head, holding her hand. Neighbors began leaning out windows and cars slowed as people gathered along the street. “People were calling out ‘Congratulations!’” Legette recalls. “I’m like ‘Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Is this really happening right now?’ I was so embarrassed.” Surrounded by officers and a small crowd of curious onlookers, Legette delivered a healthy 7-pound, 11-ounce baby girl. “I was so relieved,” she says. Legette says the experience shifted how she viewed the NYPD and police. “It helped me realize there are good ones out there,” she says. “I’m not going to lie— it did change my perception.” Still, one gesture in particular stayed with her. As the chilly February air settled around the newborn, Officer Roddmy Remy quickly removed his jacket and swaddled the baby inside. “That was a fast act,” Legette says. “We didn’t have any covers or anything. For him to give her his coat, that was a blessing. I appreciated that. He didn’t have to do that.” Kashanna Legette with NYPD Officers Roddmy Remy and Noelia Lucero, who helped deliver her baby outside her Bronx building. Courtesy Kashanna Legette The act was small, but for Legette it meant something lasting. Moved by the kindness of the 30-year-old Remy, she decided to make it a permanent part of her daughter’s story —naming the baby Zenovia and giving her the middle name Remy in his honor. When Remy later came to the hospital to retrieve the jacket he had wrapped around the newborn, Legette thanked him for his quick thinking and told him what she had decided to call her daughter. She says he was visibly stunned. “I was in shock,” Remy, a father of two daughters, told WABC, calling it “probably the coolest thing that’s gonna happen in my career.” The NYPD did not respond to two requests from TODAY to arrange an interview with the officers. The officers had been stationed outside Legette’s building to keep watch over the neighborhood. That night, instead of responding to trouble, they found themselves helping to welcome a new life. Now, every time Legette says her daughter’s name — Zenovia Remy — she’ll remember the kindness that helped bring her into the world. This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: An Iowa Mom Checked Her Preschooler’s Backpack. She Found Police Keys Boy, 5, Sneaks Out for Chick-fil-A While Family Sleeps, Has 1 Question for Police When Found Sheriff Gives Update on Leads in Nancy Guthrie Case, Says He Believes She May Have Been ‘Targeted’ ...read more read less