2023 Blue KC Answering the Call Honoree Matt Deloux
This month’s recipient is Matt Deloux…..and just wait until you hear about his heroics at a Royals game earlier this season. but first, who is Matt Deloux?
Matt grew up in Colorado Springs and then went to Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas where he majored in music performance. While he still loves music and it’s theraputic for his current high-pressure profession, his post-college career went in a different direction.
He joined the U.S. Army and served our nation for eight years as an infantry officer. that experience ignited a desire to serve in law enforcement, and he literally google-searched police departments in the Kansas City metropolitan area to get started.
He landed with the Lenexa police department and served there for four years. He then joined the Kansas City police department, where he has served on the tactical response team, commonly known as the “swat” team, the past five years.
His everyday life includes armed barricade operations, hostage negotiations and rescues, and arrests of violent offenders. It is a high-performance, high-stress position.
His police training prepared him for a day at Kauffman stadium this past May where he became a hero. Matt was off-duty and took his son to the royals game on “school day at the K”. While tailgating in the parking lot, Matt saw a young boy approaching him in distress and unable to speak. He was choking.
Quickly thinking in his mind that a Heimlich manuever could injure this 10-year-old, Matt bent the boy over, put his arm across the boy’s diaphragm, and started striking his back. It took a full minute, but he finally dislodged the food.
Moments later, Matt drove the boy to a stadium entrance gate to get picked up by his dad….safe and sound! A fun afternoon at the stadium turned into a life-saving opportunity for our award recipient!
For his service to the Kansas City community and for his heroics on May 11th at the “K”, Matt Deloux will be honored with the Blue KC Answering the Call award at the Royals game this Friday night. Thanks to Blue KC for presenting this award and congratulations to this month’s honoree, Matt Deloux!
Blue KC supports the Kansas City community through impactful sports partnership programs
Blue KC Answering the Call Program
