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Sheriff’s deputy goes beyond job duties for near drowning call of 3-year-old

Posted at 3:07 PM, Feb 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-02-24 15:07:14-05

After only eight months on the job, and at only 22 years old, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy Christian Kaufman got an emergency call that changed his life.

“My mind was in a whirlwind, I didn’t know what to think. My heart was broken,” said Kaufman.

He got to the scene of a near drowning in Queen Creek last Saturday. Three-year-old Noah Chapman was rushed to the hospital in critical condition, and Deputy Kaufman followed the ambulance to the trauma room. He was the first person to see Noah’s mom and dad.

“I turned around and saw this dad standing over his kid…unable to do anything for his kid anymore,” said Kaufman.

That’s when this emergency call became much more.

“I needed to be a deputy, but I also needed to be a human being,” said Kaufman.

Kaufman shares the same faith as Noah’s family, and he was asked if he would be part of a prayer over the 3-year-old’s bed.

“We helped with a blessing. I felt the little boy’s hair in my hand and that was a moment that touched me big time,” said Kaufman.

The deputy was so touched that he created a GoFundMe page to help take the financial burden off the family. He’s raised $2,000. And though Noah doesn’t know who he is, he hopes one day Noah will.

“I love you buddy. That’s what I would tell him. I just want what’s best for him,” said Kaufman.