Off-Duty Deputy Saves Man’s Life at Green Country Walmart

MIAMI, OKLAHOMA — A man is alive thanks to an off-duty deputy who stepped into a Green Country Walmart at just the right time and with the training to help him. “I believe God put me in that path. I really do,” Ottawa County Deputy Mike

Saturday, March 9th 2019, 10:44 pm

By: Amy Slanchik

MIAMI, OKLAHOMA — A man is alive thanks to an off-duty deputy who stepped into a Green Country Walmart at just the right time and with the training to help him.

“I believe God put me in that path. I really do,” Ottawa County Deputy Mike Wiford said. “I believe He put me there in that moment to save that man’s life. I honestly do.”

Wiford walked into Walmart Thursday and found a man passed out on the floor.

“He had no pulse,” Wiford said. “He was not breathing and his face was starting to turn blue.”

He says his training took over, and he started chest compressions on the man to the tune of the song “Stayin’ Alive.”

After just a moment, the man, who is in his 80s, started breathing again.

“About six seconds worth, is all it took,” Wiford said.

Wiford said he can only remember the man’s last name. After EMSA arrived he continued on with his errands.

He’s not looking for praise, and knows sharing what happened could serve as a reminder to everyone, that learning CPR can save lives.

“I didn’t even tell my wife,” Wiford said. “I wasn’t gonna tell anyone.”

The deputy knows CPR not just because of his job at the sheriff’s office, but because it’s a skill he had to learn in high school in order to graduate.

“There’s no doubt in my mind, that man would have died,” he said. “There was no one helping him. People were walking by. And it’s because no one knew what to do. It’s not their fault, they just didn’t know what to do.”

Wiford said he asked his daughter to get breakfast with him that morning, but she said no. So he decided to go run errands, when he walked into Walmart at the perfect time.

Wiford suggests reaching out to the American Red Cross for information on CPR classes.

Amy Slanchik

Amy Slanchik is passionate about storytelling. She joined the News On 6 team in May of 2016 after spending almost two years in Fort Smith, Ark. She is a proud University of Oklahoma graduate.

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