Cheney's Pumphrey is First Responder of the Year

Cheney Police Officer Matt Pumphrey has done quite a bit in his life, but it's his desire to help people that finally led him into law enforcement - and to being named the West Plains Chamber of Commerce's First Responder of the Year. Pumphrey received the award at the annual chamber banquet April 14 at Northern Quest Resort and Casino.

"When the chief (Cheney Chief John Hensley) told me I was a nominee, I thought cool," Pumphrey said. "When I was picked number one, I thought that's neat. I wouldn't have expected that."

Pumphrey said one of the things leading to his hiring in Cheney in 1999 was the high value the department places on people's life experiences. For him, that includes playing drums and singing in a band with his father, working in construction and driving semi-truck for a bit.

Pumphrey attended Eastern Washington University, but didn't receive a degree; getting one instead in administrative justice from Community Colleges of Spokane. He worked for the Spokane County Sheriff's Office for five years, then came to the EWU Police Department for another five years.

From there he made the move to Cheney, where he's been for 17 years, not only on the force but also living in the local area, including a period at Badger Lake.

The chamber award is the most recent for Pumphrey, who earned national recognition for saving the life of a man in 2016 who had a heart attack while driving on Cheney's First Street, losing control of his Toyota Tundra pickup and crashing through the fencing at Nixon's Farmers Insurance Agency building. The man was pinned in the vehicle, and when Pumphrey arrived a woman identifying herself as a nurse said she checked him and found no pulse.

Pumphrey entered the vehicle from the passenger's side and checked his pulse - also finding nothing. He then popped open the man's seat belt and managed to extricate him from the truck, beginning CPR immediately once on the ground.

He continued CPR even as Cheney Fire Department medical personnel arrived, but noticed something unusual in the way the man's heart was responding.

"It felt weird, like a bowl of Rice Krispies, instead of (the normal feel) swish, swish," Pumphrey said.

Turned out the man had a mechanical heart, something neither Pumphrey nor the other first responders had encountered before. Taking turns with CPR, they eventually got the device started and the man survived.

For that, Pumphrey received the American Police Hall of Fame Life Saving award. It's not an unusual situation for police officers, he said, adding he performed two other similar efforts that year.

According to its website, the West Plains chamber's First Responder of the Year award "Recognizes and celebrates those who go out of their way to keep us safe, our property secure and ensure the protection of our community in the West Plains." For Pumphrey, helping people isn't going out of his or any first responder's way.

"We're doing our job, it's what's expected," he said. "I would do it for anybody, any time."

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.