Officer recounts saving child from choking at Kauffman

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - One of KD’s finest is being recognized for stopping a student from choking while he was off duty, enjoying Day at The K with his son.

Officer Matt DeLoux had taken the day off to chaperone and be with his son Kauffman Stadium. He had no idea what was about to happen when he sat down to have lunch.

“All of a sudden, this kid comes by me and grabbed my arm,” DeLoux said. “I didn’t know the kid. Initially, I didn’t think anything of it. But then, I noticed that he was in distress. He wasn’t making any noise. He was trying to grab something. I realized he was choking. I just bent him over and started giving him taps on the back pretty hard. I put my arm across his diaphragm to aid and give that extra force.”

The student was choking on a chocolate candy bar.

Eventually, DeLoux was able to dislodge it.

The officer’s quick thinking likely came from an experience he had a few years ago.

“My son choked on a pear when he was six,” said DeLoux. “I just happened to be in the kitchen. The way I noticed was he was eating and all of sudden, he just stood up and did the same kind of grasping for help. I did pretty much the same thing.”

DeLoux also had lifesaving experience from his time serving in the U.S. Army as a captain. Not to mention, the Kansas City Police Department does first aid and R training every other year.

As for as why the student chose him over other adults at the ballpark, even though he wasn’t in his uniform?

“I asked him afterwards, after he got his whereabouts back,” DeLoux said. “He said that I was the ‘most professional looking,’ so he ran over to me. I don’t know what made him think that.”

DeLoux said he received a phone call from the student’s principal, thanking him for performing the lifesaving technique.

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