Three members of the Blaine Police Department were honored at a city council meeting Monday for their actions taken during an incident in August. Sgt. Jordan Maphumulo along with officers Andrew Richardson and William Dimezza responded to a call that a man was unresponsive in his vehicle.
The three officers identified that the man was in need of immediate life-saving efforts. They got the man out of the vehicle, retrieved a defibrillator and began performing CPR, said Police Chief Rodger Funk.
“They took turns working as a team, counting each other in to get CPR administered,” Funk said. “As one officer would tire — it's a very tiring event to perform that CPR — they traded it off as a team in a very coordinated fashion.”
Following CPR the man became responsive.
For their efforts, officers Richardson and Dimezza were each given a life-saving award.
But Sgt. Maphumulo was given a different award. Funk said this was the fourth time since he became police chief that Maphumulo was directly involved in saving a life.
For this, Maphumulo received a meritorious service award — a step above a life-saving award, Funk said.
Funk said that the award represents the credit that Maphumulo has brought to the police department.
All three who received awards Monday said it was nice to be honored, but that’s not why they became police officers. They became officers to serve the community.
“This is something I signed up to do,” Dimezza said after receiving his award. “(To be) appreciated like this means a lot, especially in a town like Blaine. What I really enjoy is serving the community.”
Dimezza said that because Blaine has a small-sized police force, they get to know each other well, which can help with chemistry. That chemistry can help in moments like the one in August.
Richardson, who was the first to respond to the call in August, said that it helped to know he had Dimezza and Maphumulo on the way. He echoed Dimezza’s sentiment: It was nice to be recognized, but he’s not in it for the awards.
“The reward is the fact that I can do this job. I was given the opportunity to do what I did, that’s plenty enough for me. But I do appreciate being recognized,” Richardson said.
Funk said Maphumulo came to him after the event in August and wanted Richardson and Dimezza to be recognized for their efforts — but there was no mention of himself.
Maphumulo embodies the “we before me” mentality that the Blaine Police Department values, Funk said.
“I'm humbled and I'm honored,” Maphumulo said of receiving a meritorious service award. “I don’t feel like I deserve it. There are deputies, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, EMTs, (and) doctors all over the world saving lives every day. I’m not anything special, just a guy doing a job.”
