Cuomo Signs 'Briana's Law,' Requiring CPR Training For NYPD Officers, State Troopers

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday signed Briana's Law, requiring New York City police officers and state troopers to complete training in CPR.

As WCBS 880's Kelly Waldron reported, the law is named after Briana Ojeda, who suffered an asthma attack on a playground in Brooklyn seven years ago Sunday on Aug. 27, 2010.

Her mother was rushing to get her 11-year-old daughter to the hospital when she was stopped by a police officer for driving the wrong-way on a one-way street.

The officer couldn't help because he said he didn't know CPR.

By the time they reached the hospital, it was too late for Briana.

The law requires state troopers and members of the NYPD to complete CPR training and recertification every two years unless there is an exceptional circumstance -- but it mandates the training at least every four years without exception.

CBS2's Hazel Sanchez spoke to Briana's parents just hours after Cuomo signed the bill into law.

"Every day is a fight, is a nightmare," Briana's father Michael Ojeda said.

"You wake up and you want to see her," a tearful Carmen Ojeda said. "And you want to talk to her. To smell her, or just give her a hug."

On the anniversary of their daughter's death, her family took a visit to Briana's gravesite to share the good news.

"I just told her we did it," Carmen said. "We did it."

State Sen. Jesse Hamilton (D-Brooklyn) sponsored the bill along with Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn).

"When someone calls a police officer or state trooper, they can feel well assured that the officer coming to the scene will be able to perform CPR," Hamilton said.

The Ojedas said it was their mission to get officers better trained in lifesaving techniques.

"I think this is a victory for the family," Ortiz said. "It's a victory for the people of the state of New York."

Briana's family says the law brings them peace knowing their daughter didn't die in vain.

"We refused to have another parent or another family go through what we go through," Michael said.

Ortiz and Hamilton say Sunday was just the beginning. They hope to secure $1 million in state funding in January to require the same CPR training for all law enforcement officers across the state.

The law will go into effect in 60 days.