TN DEPUTY COMA, VENTILATOR AFTER BRUTAL ATTACK

Summary

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Podcast Summary:

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
Episode: TN DEPUTY COMA, VENTILATOR AFTER BRUTAL ATTACK
Date: October 24, 2025

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Overview

This harrowing episode centers on the brutal on-duty attack of Tennessee Deputy Dalton Swanger, who was left in a coma and on a ventilator after being ambushed with a rock while responding to a shots fired/domestic violence call. Nancy Grace explores the events of that night, the medical ordeal that ensued, and the emotional aftermath for Deputy Swanger, his fiancée Stefania Pumphrey, and his partner Deputy Matthew Kirchner. The episode also addresses the broader risks law enforcement officers face daily and highlights the resilience, vulnerability, and heroism within these stories.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Incident: Night of the Attack

• Call for Help (00:30-01:02):

  • Deputy Swanger and partner Deputy Kirchner answer a late-night shots fired call involving a domestic dispute.
  • Camera crews from “On Patrol Live” document their arrival, greeted by a distressed woman.

• Ambush in the Woods (01:30-03:09):

  • Suspect hides in the darkness, taunts deputies, throws rocks, and claims to be armed.
  • Swanger moves into the woods despite danger.
  • He is struck on the head with a rock or brick and immediately incapacitated.

  “Imagine what it takes day in, day out to go into a darkened area where you think someone is in there armed... you do your duty. And that's what he did.” — Nancy Grace (02:41)

2. Medical Aftermath and Miracle Survival

• Immediate Response (03:36-07:25):

  • Deputy Swanger tries to stand but cannot, is dragged from the woods by fellow officers.
  • Suffering from a depressed skull fracture, Swanger initially speaks but quickly deteriorates: “That bleeding in his brain wasn’t severe enough that it was affecting him. But as... the bleeding started getting bigger, and then he started seizing and went into a coma.” — Dr. Kendall Krantz (04:33)

• Medical Details (07:25-08:11, 17:47, 20:48, 36:36):

  • The rock caused hemorrhaging and swelling, leading to seizures and coma.
  • Swanger required intubation and life support due to seizure complications and loss of breathing function.
  • Prolonged intubation led to tracheal stenosis, necessitating complex future surgery.

  “A ventilator is a machine that basically breathes for you... They place a tube down your throat that goes into your trachea and then forces oxygen in, keeping your body full of oxygen, essentially keeping you alive.” — Dr. Kendall Krantz (17:47)

3. Personal Trauma and Family Perspective

• Fiancée’s Experience (16:51-18:28):

  • Stefania Pumphrey witnessed Swanger's attack live on television, called him in the ambulance, and then rushed to the hospital where she learned of his critical condition.
  • Describes the shock and agony of seeing her fiancé unresponsive in the ICU, clinging to hope.

  “He was covered in blood still, and he just didn't look like himself. You know, I had just seen him. I had just kissed him goodbye... The trembling from the end of the seizure was, I think, the worst part for it.” — Stefania Pumphrey (22:25)

• Coma Experience (25:21-27:01):

  • Swanger recounts being able to hear voices while in a coma but being unable to respond—a “prison in your own head.”
  • Emotional interplay between supportive words and the internal desperation not to leave loved ones.

  “You just want to scream back at them like, 'I'm not leaving, I'm not leaving, I'm not going to die,' but you can't... It was a horrific thing when the people you love are telling you goodbye and you want to comfort them, but you can't.” — Deputy Dalton Swanger (27:01)

4. Deputy Matthew Kirchner: A Partner’s Account and New Struggles

• First-Hand Perspective (14:00):

  • Kirchner was also hit by rocks but was able to evacuate Swanger despite his own injury.
  • Emotional struggle at having to leave his incapacitated best friend with others in order to secure the scene.

  “Getting him out of there was my number one thing. And the hardest part for me... after we drug him out and I had to leave him with a fellow deputy instead of tending to him... it really killed me seeing him like that.” — Deputy Matthew Kirchner (29:23)

• Kirchner’s Ongoing Ordeal (41:11-42:40):

  • Kirchner later suffered a shattered ankle in a separate incident, facing amputation after three unsuccessful surgeries.

  “It's an emotional roller coaster. I am trying to imagine life without a foot... My pain is unbearable every single day... but I'm very sad that I'm losing my foot.” — Deputy Matthew Kirchner (42:04)

5. Complex Surgical Recovery and Future Uncertainties

• Surgical Challenges for Swanger (35:59-40:07):

  • Multiple unsuccessful surgeries for tracheal stenosis.
  • Upcoming high-risk surgery may threaten his ability to speak, as damage is close to vocal cords.

  “He's a pretty unique case... his were lasting maybe a week where he could breathe slightly easier and then he would just feel like he was suffocating again and it would close up further.” — Stefania Pumphrey (40:07)

• Both Deputies on Moving Forward (43:58-44:35):

  • Swanger: Faith and resilience, “I'll crawl out from underneath it, do whatever it takes to get back to having the badge on the chest.”
  • Kirchner: Grateful for support, never imagined these outcomes after 27 years of service.

6. Systemic and Community Reflections

• Dangers of Domestic Calls (31:41):

  • Both deputies underscore unpredictable, life-threatening nature of “routine” domestic violence calls.
  • Context: the suspect was a parolee with prior serious charges, out on bond.

  “Domestics are like the most dangerous calls you could possibly go on. The emotion levels are always higher when people are fighting with the people they love.” — Deputy Matthew Kirchner (31:41)

• Community Response (35:21):

  • Knox County holds a prayer vigil for Deputy Swanger.
  • Vigorous support from the community and further calls for GoFundMe donations for both injured deputies.

  “Both of these deputies have a very, very long row to hoe. And I want both of them to know how much you mean to us, to all of us.” — Nancy Grace (45:46)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Facing Danger:

  “You don't question what could be in the bushes, what could be in the dark, the boogeyman. You can't see. You do your duty. And that's what he did.” — Nancy Grace (02:41)

• On Trauma in Coma:

  “You hear these people, some of which it sounds like they're telling you goodbye and you just want to scream back... 'I'm not leaving, I'm not going to die,' but you can't.” — Deputy Dalton Swanger (27:01)

• On Seizures:

  “A grand mal seizure is a major seizure that affects the entire body and can actually put a person into an arrhythmia and cause their death.” — Dr. Kendall Krantz (21:06)

• On Ongoing Struggles:

  “It's extremely mentally daunting... I'm kind of in fire with it. But, you know, I've relied heavily in my faith and you know, relied heavily on God for this and that's probably great comfort.” — Deputy Dalton Swanger (39:25)

• On Law Enforcement Sacrifice:

  “We go about our days assuming you're there, when the truth is if you weren't there, we wouldn't be here. Nobody would be protecting us. Nobody would be catching the bad guys and putting them away from us and away from our children. But you do that day and night with no thought of your own safety.” — Nancy Grace (45:46)

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Key Timestamps by Segment

| Time | Segment | |-------------|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:05 | Nancy Grace introduces the story | | 01:30 | Details of the call and ambush in the woods | | 04:33 | Dr. Krantz explains Swanger’s head trauma and progression | | 08:56 | Swanger describes his memory and sensations during the attack | | 12:54 | Kirchner recounts the incident and rescuing Swanger | | 16:51 | Stefania describes learning about the attack | | 18:28 | Stefania details ICU experience | | 22:25 | Describing Swanger in the ICU post-seizure | | 25:21 | Swanger’s experience of coma and hearing loved ones | | 27:01 | Emotional impact of being unable to respond in coma | | 29:23 | Kirchner on the impact of witnessing partner’s injury | | 31:41 | Discussion of the dangers of domestic calls | | 35:59 | Details on Swanger’s tracheal complications and surgeries | | 41:11 | Kirchner discusses his own injury and pending amputation | | 43:58 | Swanger on psychological resilience and will to recover | | 45:04 | Swanger's hallucinatory determination to keep breathing | | 45:46 | Nancy Grace’s call for support and tribute to fallen officers |

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Final Reflections

This episode powerfully spotlights the real risks faced by law enforcement, the aftermath of violence, the intersection of medical crisis and family resilience, and the remarkable will to recover. Through first-person accounts, clinical insight, and community response, Crime Stories with Nancy Grace reminds listeners of the human cost behind every police radio call—and the layers of courage, trauma, and hope that define these stories.

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Transcript

[Stefania Pumphrey]

This is an I heart podcast.

[Dr. Kendall Krantz]

Crime.

[Nancy Grace]

Stories with Nancy Grace. A Tennessee deputy in a coma and on a ventilator fighting for his life after a brutal attack. When he answers a call along with his partner to help a woman, instead he has to be dragged out of bushes, his head bleeding and ends up fighting for his life.

[Dr. Kendall Krantz]

Why?

[Nancy Grace]

Good evening, I'm Nancy Grace, this is Crime Stories. I want to thank you for being with us.

[Narrator]

For years, Deputy Dalton Swinger served with unwavering dedication at the Knox County Sheriff's Office. A steady force protecting his community. But one fateful call would thrust him and his team into a life threatening confrontation that would change everything.

[Nancy Grace]

We are being told that Deputy Swanger needs a very complicated and complex surgery that is offered at just a handful of hospitals in our country. Due to a trachea closing, he's going to have to have a tracheal resection because of a brutal injury he obtained on duty. And this is where it all starts. Listening.

[Reporter]

Saturday night, 10:15pm Knox County, Tennessee. 911 gets a report of shots fired on Stanley Road. Deputies followed by on patrol. Live TV show camera crew are greeted on scene by a woman claiming she has a crazy ex and pointing officers toward a wooded area announcing their presence with shouts of sheriff's office. A defiant voice from the woods curses the deputies and begins throwing rocks. Call about shots fired in Knox County, Tennessee. But as they search the perimeter of the woods, they hear noises. Deputy Deputy Dalton Swanger investigates further. He heads into the brush. He's armed and he has no idea.

[Nancy Grace]

What'S awaiting from our friends at On Patrol Live. And this is where we're getting a really exact look at what happened that night. And there's more.

[Narrator]

The dark wooded area provides cover for the suspect who claims to have a gun. As he is throwing rocks at officers. Deputies spread out searching the perimeter, preventing the suspect from running and getting away. Deputy Swanger goes into the trees. The trees and brush prevent a clear view and swing tells the suspect, show me your hands. It's an ambush as the suspect nails Swinger with a rock.

[Nancy Grace]

Imagine what it takes day in, day out to go into a darkened area where you think someone is in there armed yet you, Deputy Swanger, go in anyway because it's your job. You don't question what could be in the bushes, what could be in the dark, the boogeyman. You can't see. You do your duty. And that's what he did. Listen.

[Reporter]

Officers hear the ambush and see movement in the trees. Then a thud is heard as Deputy Swanger Is hit full force on top of his head and falls to the ground. A deputy rushes to Swanger, who says he got knocked out, hit with something hard. Fellow officers have to drag the deputy from the woods and out of the trees. A bloody gash can be clearly seen on the deputy's head.

[Nancy Grace]

I want you to see what happened immediately after the attack.

[Deputy Dalton Swanger]

Listen, show me your hands.

[Dr. Kendall Krantz]

Who are you? Hit me with something hard.

[Nancy Grace]

That was from on patrol. Live to Dr. Kendall Crowns. Joining us, Chief medical examiner, Tarrant County. He is esteemed lecturer at the Burnett School of Medicine at TCU and star of a hit podcast, Mayhem in the morgue. Dr. Kendall Krantz, thank you for being with us. Whenever I hear the word thud in connection with a human body, it's never good. So how could Deputy Swanger at first stand and speak saying, I've been hit, and then suddenly end up in a coma?

[Dr. Kendall Krantz]

When he was hit with the rock, he got what is called a depressed skull fracture, which means it didn't break through completely to the skull getting to the brain, but it actually pushed down onto the brain. And when that happens, it bruises the brain. But much like a bruise on your body, it takes a little while for that bruise to blossom or get bigger and actually start having effects. And why he was able to speak initially is because that bleeding in his brain wasn't severe enough that it was affecting him. But as a short time continued, the bleeding started getting bigger, and then he started seizing and went into a coma.

[Nancy Grace]

Dr. Kendall, Crowns, remember, we're just lay people, okay? I don't understand how you get hit on the outside of your head and then your brain bleeds deep inside your head.

[Dr. Kendall Krantz]

It's the hit to the head causes energy, or kinetic energy, the wave to go into your brain tissue itself, which is just liquid, and then that can cause a disruption of the tissues and the blood vessels, resulting in further bleeding. Plus, also with the depressed skull fracture pushing into the brain itself, it pushes on the brain tissue, causing damage as well.

[Nancy Grace]

Guys, I want you to brace yourself. I'm going to show you video. Let's see it. Control room deputies arrive to a 911 call of shots fired. They go around the residence, and a woman directs them toward the woods. Deputy Swinger is about there. She is directing him back to the woods. And they know the perp could be armed. And what do they do? They don't go hide behind their patrol car. They go out there. There's a guy in there with a weapon, according to the woman, and they go look for him before he can hurt anyone. Deputy Swinger is in the woods with another deputy. Watching now, see the circle showing where Swanger is when he is slammed on the top of the head with a rock or a brick. He falls over, he's dragged out of the woods. He tries to stand up with the help of another deputy. He can't really stand. And then in the end, he has to be dragged out of the woods. Watch this. That was from on patrol live. Dr. Kendall crowns. How is it he can talk and he can move his arms, but then suddenly he can't move any of his limbs anymore, just like that?

[Dr. Kendall Krantz]

Yeah, it's the process of the hemorrhage in the brain getting bigger over time. Initially it's small, and then as the bleeding increases, it starts affecting the brain more and more. The blood itself is irritating the brain tissue which causes the brain to swell. And when the brain's swelling, it's starting to compromise those functions of your body that the brain controls, like your movement, your speech and everything like that, and puts you into a coma. Thankfully, our brainstem, which cover which our brainstem, which handles heart rate and lungs, is more protected. So your body is still able to function even though the rest of your higher function is compromised. And that gives surgeons the opportunity to do an operation to save the individual.

[Nancy Grace]

Guys, you've seen the video, you've heard the story. And now I want you to meet the man who goes in to the bushes in the dark, into the woods to find an armed perp. He is putting on a brave front tonight, but in that one moment, his life was changed. And now he is looking at a very, very extensive and complicated a complex surgery called tracheal resection. Joining me along with his fiance, Stefania Pumphrey, Deputy Dalton Swanger. Deputy, thank you for being with us.

[Deputy Dalton Swanger]

Thank you for having me, ma'.

[Stefania Pumphrey]

Am.

[Nancy Grace]

Deputy Swanger, you're a medical miracle.

[Deputy Dalton Swanger]

Yes, ma'. Am.

[Nancy Grace]

When I learned about what happened to you by chance meeting with your sister, I was floored. I mean, I know you're presenting a certain front tonight on tv, but I also learned a little bit of what you've been through and what you're facing. Deputy, what can you remember of that night that changed your life forever?

[Deputy Dalton Swanger]

So my partner, now Kirchner, we were working patrol. I had OPL's TV crew with me that evening and we hear a shots fired call come out that had a domestic to it. So we ended up canceling the other units going to that call because we were close. And we got to the call and we Met with the complainants, and they seemed, you know, they were very startled and stressed. And then we went to the wood line where the alleged suspect was. When I started, you know, announcing and seeing what was going on, we were met by very aggressive verbal responses. He said, you know, I could tell something was wrong. He was very emotionally elevated, extremely. Just, you know, through the roof with everything, trying to talk to him, trying to get a better saying. So dark that night. You can't really tell on TV because they were using night vision, but it was just pitch dark. And so we eventually go in the woods, because if I recall correctly, there was a fence, and so we couldn't really see from that angle. So we go down a hill and into the woods. And once we get in the woods, he begins spaving. Something about a.357 Magnum. So we, you know, that's when I turned my light off, because you don't want to paint yourself as a target when you're in the woods. And I thought I was behind the tree. That was obviously very mistaken. And I start hearing things landing around us. And when that happens, the one unfolds next is. I remember just being there trying, and I see a silhouette go in front of, like, a candescent light. And the next thing I know, it's like a green firework just exploded in my face. It's the best way I can describe it. It just looked like a green starburst met with the most overwhelming pain in the top of my head. And my entire body locks up, and I black out for what felt like a split second, and I'm on the ground, and my entire body just. I can't move it. No matter how hard I try, my body's in this lock. It's like an entire body cramp almost. And I remember thinking I didn't know if I was shot. I didn't know what happened. And I remember thinking I was trying to get my rifle up because I was terrified if I hadn't been shot. Like, what if he was advancing? What if he was getting ready to finish the job? And I was panicking and just trying to raise my rifle just in case he was coming. A few moments later, my partner, Kurt Sherriff, walks over, and he asked me if I can get up. And, you know, I said no. And he takes my hand, and I remember gripping his hand as far as I possibly could. And at this point, my body's beginning to, like, loosen up. And he begins dragging me out of the woods. And I remember feeling, as I'm getting Drugged out of the woods and I feel something just running over my head. I just feel, you know, something pouring over my head. Almost like someone just was pouring water on my head. And so as I'm being dragged out of the woods.

[Nancy Grace]

Hold on just a moment, just a moment. With me, guys is Deputy Dalton Swinger, Knox County Sheriff's office, who is putting on a brave front tonight. But he is awaiting immediate and necessary life saving surgery. I want you to hear what his friend and fellow deputy Matt Kirchner said.

[Deputy Matthew Kirchner]

Another rock came through and hit and struck down to be smiling. But I didn't realize it at first because I thought it was just a rock hitting the ground. And a few seconds later I heard my partner, Debbie Swanger, groaning. And I turned around and I saw him laying on the ground.

[Nancy Grace]

Straight out to Deputy Dalton Swanger's partner, Deputy Matthew Kirchner, his former partner, Deputy Kirchner, thank you for being with us. When I saw that video from Wate, it was the Knox county court video of you testifying at a preliminary hearing. My chest just seized up. My throat just felt like I swallowed a lump of coal. At first I thought it was a rock hitting the ground. A few seconds later I heard my partner groaning. I saw him lying on the ground. What happened from your perspective that night, Deputy Kirchner?

[Deputy Matthew Kirchner]

I. During the, originally, when I, when it first happened, I got hit with a rock myself and I knew that he was throwing rocks. He hit me in the arm. But the next one I thought was just a rock coming through the woods and I thought it hit the ground. But like I said before, it was. I heard Dalton gasping for air. So when I turned around, I saw him on the ground. I asked him if he'd get up is. I don't even remember if he responded or not. My, my initial thing was to get him out of there. I grabbed his hand and I took him out of the danger zone as fast as I could.

[Nancy Grace]

Guys, I want to show you, believe it or not, video from what happened that night. And here is that video. This is from our friends from Peacock on Patrol Live. Now you see the fellow deputies looking for Swanger and dragging him out. He came out stunned, bleeding, and at first thought he could stand. He's trying, trying to stand up, trying to stand up and then he can't do it. What happened to Deputy Swanger? This is from our friends from Peacock on Patrol Live.

[Narrator]

Knox county was no stranger to the public eye, making periodic appearances on Patrol Live. But what started as another routine shift for Dalton Swanger turned into a violent ord one that would send shock waves through the Knox County Sheriff's office.

[Nancy Grace]

Deputy Dalton Swanger is joining us tonight and in a few moments I'm going to publicize. He did not ask for this. I asked for it. His GoFundMe. We send our police, our law enforcement out every day. We don't think about it. We just call 911 or we report an accident. We don't think about what's happening. We with them protecting us, we take it for granted. Until someone like Swinger and I'd like to report Deputy Matthew Kirchner has now had his own incident and is about to face surgery from an on the job injury. Every day we ask them to put their lives on the line and they go to work every morning not knowing whether they'll come home. I mean to you, Steph. Stephania Pumphrey. It must be excruciating seeing him go out the door every morning and never knowing will he come home?

[Stefania Pumphrey]

Absolutely. It was something that I did take for granted as well. And this has changed our lives and changed our perspective on it.

[Nancy Grace]

Guys, she is like her fiance, deputy swinger, extremely humble. They would never ask for anything. But I want you to learn about how Stefania finds out what has happened.

[Reporter]

To Dalton while still on scene after being injured. Dalton seems alright. His girlfriend sees everything live on TV and calls Dalton while he is in the ambulance. They talk for a minute and she meets him at the emergency room. Dalton's condition worsens on the way to the hospital and he's admitted into ICU at the University of Tennessee Medical center where he ends up on a ventilator in a coma.

[Nancy Grace]

Dr. KendallKrows, what is a ventilator? Explain.

[Dr. Kendall Krantz]

A ventilator is a machine that basically breathes for you when you have head trauma or something like that and go into a coma. And it's potential that your brain shuts off your respiratory drive and you no longer are breathing. The machine itself will breathe for you. They place a tube down your throat that goes into your trachea and then forces oxygen in, keeping your body full of oxygen, essentially keeping you alive.

[Nancy Grace]

Stefania Pumphrey joining us along with Deputy Dalton Swanger and Deputy Matthew Kirchner. Stefania, tell me about that night when you learned Dalton was headed to the icu.

[Stefania Pumphrey]

Yeah, so I watched it live with everybody else and when I saw the blood start pouring out of his head, I called him. It was as he was going into the seizure and we didn't know but he told me not to be scared. And that he loved me. And that was the last I heard until I got to the hospital. And it was hours until his captain called me and said that he had actually gone into a grand mal seizure for over an hour. We don't know if he's going to be okay. And you need to prepare yourself. We're going to get you back here to see him as soon as possible.

[Nancy Grace]

Wait. Let me see Stefania again. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, I don't need the victory sign right now. I need to get there. You are okay? They told you he's having a grand mal seizure and they don't know if he's going to make it. He was just talking on the phone, right?

[Stefania Pumphrey]

Yeah. The last I heard was that he had told me he loved me and not to be scared. And then. And then he seized after we got off the phone. And I found out when I got to the hospital.

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[Nancy Grace]

Crime stories with Nancy Grace. This is like everyone's worst nightmare. Dr. Kendall crowns. I'm so glad you're with us tonight because we need you. What is a grand mal seizure?

[Dr. Kendall Krantz]

So grand mal seizure is a large seizure where the entire body is involved. The whole body shakes. The person basically is no longer able to know what's going on in their surroundings. They're essentially everything shut off and they're seizing, which is unlike an absence seizure, where it's kind of a mild seizure, where they may be a little dazed or confused, but they're still able to breathe and function. Whereas a grand mal seizure is a major seizure that affects the entire body and can actually put a person into an arrhythmia and cause their death.

[Nancy Grace]

Deputy Swanger is joined by fiance, Stephania Pumphrey. Stephania so when you get to the hospital, that's when you learn he had gone into grand mal seizures?

[Stefania Pumphrey]

Yes. It was a couple hours still before I learned. I had to wait for a little bit, but his captain called me a couple hours after I got to the hospital and told me that he had gone into the seizure and we didn't know much information and if he was going to be okay and that I need to prepare myself and that they're going to bring me back to see him soon.

[Nancy Grace]

When you saw him, Stefania, describe what you saw.

[Stefania Pumphrey]

He was still shaking a little bit, and he wasn't. He wasn't cleaned up at all. So he was. He was covered in blood still, and he just didn't look like himself. You know, I had just seen him. I had just kissed him goodbye. It was. It was my Dalton, and he just didn't look like him. He had the breathing tube in. He was covered in blood. And the trembling from the end of the seizure was, I think, the worst part for it.

[Nancy Grace]

What do you mean?

[Stefania Pumphrey]

He was still. It looked to me like his body was kind of in shock, I guess, just not right. And when I got there, he was still shaking just a little bit. Like all his muscles were just completely.

[Nancy Grace]

Shaking, but part of him was shaking. His whole body?

[Stefania Pumphrey]

All of him? Yep. His chest, his shoulders, his neck, everything.

[Nancy Grace]

And at that point, was he already on a ventilator?

[Stefania Pumphrey]

Yep. Yeah, he was. They had already sedated him and tried to get the seizure to stop. And that moment was probably the hardest because I called my parents, and my dad was also law enforcement, and they come running in, and my dad ran to his side, my mom ran to mine. And so I was watching the officer that raised me hold the hand of the officer I love. And none of us know if he's going to be okay. And that moment is really frozen in time for me. I'll never forget seeing him for the first time like that.

[Nancy Grace]

Did you try to talk to him? Yeah.

[Stefania Pumphrey]

Yeah, we all talked to him. The doctor said that they're not sure how it works, but that there's a good chance that he can still hear us. And so he said, talk to him like you normally would. And so we all did. We all did. The whole time in the coma, actually, we just. We talked to him all week.

[Nancy Grace]

What did you say?

[Stefania Pumphrey]

I told him I loved him. And I told him I was trying not to be scared like he told me to. I told him it was going to be okay no matter what happened, and that if he needed whatever he needed in the moment we were going to do. I wasn't going to leave aside, we were going to stay with him. He had everybody here. I just wanted him to know that he wasn't alone and that, and that we were here and we were going to do anything we could for him.

[Nancy Grace]

Did he give any sign of response?

[Reporter]

Not.

[Stefania Pumphrey]

Not until later in the coma in the week, but for the first three days, no.

[Nancy Grace]

Deputy Swanger, did you hear her?

[Deputy Dalton Swanger]

So that is one of the biggest like things I think people misconceived about coma's and stuff is like you do here. That was by far the most terrifying and traumatic part of this for me is you're almost in like a dreamlike state. And so I would absolutely hear people's voices speaking to me, but it was almost like I was changed in my own head. And you're trying to perceive things like that. What I assumed to be that night, whether it was a dream, a hallucination, I don't know. But I pictured being in a concrete hallway surrounded by surgeons and I was, I remember I was pouring sweat in this and heaving as much as I could to breathe. And I remember just visualizing another guy on my shift telling me, you can live, you just have to keep breathing. You have to keep breathing. Like you can't stop breathing or you'll die. And you know that that was really traumatic. And through the coma, absolutely. You know, I heard people talking to me constantly. I wanted to respond, I wanted to say stuff, but it's like you're just trapped in a prison of your own head.

[Nancy Grace]

Deputy Swanger, you have answered a question for me that I've asked since 2016. I always have wondered whether my dad could hear me when I was talking to him right before he died. And I'm taking great comfort that you could actually hear Stefania. But you said that was the worst part. Why was it the worst part if you could hear her?

[Deputy Dalton Swanger]

So the parts that the hard part was because you're so confused and the last thing you, you have no perception of time in a coma. And I would hear some people be like, what was telling me goodbye? And not to get too far into the weeds on this, but I lost one of my partners and years back that was killed on a call and I spoke to him when he was on a ventilator and stuff. And you hear these people, some of which it sounds like they're telling you goodbye and you just want to scream back them like, I'm not leaving, I'm not leaving, I'm not going to die, but you can't. And you hear these people and they're rubbing their shoulder and they're telling you it's okay. You just got to relax. And it's hard to explain to someone who's not been in that situation, but it's a horrific thing when the people you love and are surrounded by or telling you goodbye, you want to respond so badly, but all you can do is hear their words in despair and how hurt they are, and you want to comfort them, but you can't. And that was a really terrifying moment for me. But the moments I did have that were really comforting with Stefania, I was like, good, hear her. She would keep constantly saying, I'm here, I'm here, honey. And so as alone as I was in my head and all these horrific, just traumatic hallucinations, nightmares, whatever you want to call them, it felt really nice to hear her say, I'm here sometimes.

[Narrator]

Responding to reports of gunfire, Deputy Swanger entered a wooded area in pursuit of an armed suspect. Under the COVID of darkness, he disappeared into the trees, unaware that within moments his life would be in danger.

[Nancy Grace]

After everything that we have seen and heard tonight, this is a miracle. A miracle that Deputy Dalton Swanger is alive. A miracle that his partner, Deputy Matthew Kirchner, is alive, who has now had his own injury. Deputy Kirchner, what was going through your mind as you see Dalton falling? He can't stand up and you guys are dragging him away.

[Deputy Matthew Kirchner]

I was in shock, but I was in survival mode at that point. When I saw him fall, I mean, I didn't see him fall, but when I realized he fell and he was on the ground, getting him out of there was my number one thing. And the hardest part for me on this whole thing is after we drug him out and I had to leave him with a fellow deputy instead of tending to him and that he's my best friend. So it. It really killed me seeing him like that.

[Nancy Grace]

We're showing video right now from our friends at Peacocks on Patrol, live of swinger trying to stand. There he goes, There he goes. He can't do it. They have to literally drag him away. And all over what? Dave Mack, crime stories, investigative reporter. Dave this was all about a shots fired. They go out there and risk their lives over what?

[Reporter]

Dave Mack, Nancy it was actually a domestic argument between Hensley and his girlfriend. That's what they were, the shots fired call domestic violence. They didn't know exactly what was on tap for them when they got there, but that's actually what was Going on. Hensley was drunk and he smacked his girlfriend and they called 91 1. That's what began all of this.

[Nancy Grace]

You know, I just. To you, Deputy Matthew Kirchner, I don't think people get it. And you know what, Kirchner? I'm glad they don't get it. Because if they did get it, it would mean that they're exposed to crime every single day like we are. And I don't want that for other people. I want them to live in a bubble. Right? So people like you and Swanger and me and so many other people, we hear it for them, right?

[Deputy Matthew Kirchner]

Yes, ma'.

[Deputy Dalton Swanger]

Am.

[Nancy Grace]

But when you go out on something as simple as a domestic or should be simple, but very rarely is it simple you can end up dead. Dead Kurtzer, over what?

[Deputy Matthew Kirchner]

Well, unfortunately, domestics are like the most dangerous calls you could possibly go on. The emotion levels are always higher when people are fighting with the people they love. We didn't know that's what we were dealing with. We just thought we were dealing with somebody that was. Had shot off some rounds and clearly was very intoxicated. Way he was talking and yelling at us, honestly, at no point did I expect rocks to be thrown at us after I got struck and then Dalton got struck and the way he was out, I just never imagined that. And now in every scenario, I've been doing this for 27 years. In every scenario, I could play back in my head. Rock being hit in the head would be the last one that I would think of.

[Nancy Grace]

It has been described as a thud. You heard a thud, and what that was was this huge rock being slammed into Dalton's head. Describe that sound.

[Deputy Matthew Kirchner]

It actually sounded like a huge rock hitting the ground. Like a. You know, it's just a sound that it didn't bounce or anything. It just stuck. And that sound was hitting Dalton's head.

[Nancy Grace]

And when I say for what? For what? All this for what? Not talking about a domestic event on plenty of domestics where the woman was practically killed. All right? This guy had his bond revoked on a theft by shoplifting and 1500 marijuana plants found in the home. And here he is hiding in the bushes. You think he's armed and he attacked Swinger? That's why I'm saying a poc. Technical legal term that should have already been behind bars is growing pot in his house, for Pete's sake. According to charges manufacturing, delivering drugs. Yeah, he should have already been in jail. And then allegedly hits Swanger and lands him in a coma. I mean, Deputy Swinger, when you Went out. What was in your mind, if you can remember, when you go into those bushes? I mean, he thought the guy might be armed, but you went into the bushes, into the woods anyway.

[Deputy Dalton Swanger]

So it's a really chaotic thing. And kind of, as Deputy Kirchner explained, you know, we're constantly trained to assess threats, and that's always where your mind is, especially in a very vulnerable moment like that, when you can't see, you're in unfamiliar territory. The woods are super hard to navigate. You don't know if you're going to step in a divot, the ground, trip over a branch, get caught in the weeds. So you're trying to navigate the terrain, you're trying to see the threat, but it's so dark, you can't turn on your light because then you give a beacon, if he does have a gun, to where he could shoot. And if I don't, if I recall correctly, I believe you say he taunts us to turn our lights back on. So that's making you think, like, oh, he could be wanting to shoot me. And one thing I never until this perceived was a threat coming from above on top of your head, and so that, you know, you're scanning for like a360 around you, but you never picture something coming down and hitting your head. So it was. It was just, just like every other call. You're trying to assess the threat and what's going on there. But in this particular situation, we were in complete.

[Reporter]

A prayer vigil is held for Dalton while he's in the icu. Organized by the community, the prayer vigil was held at the UT Medical center in an effort to show support for Dalton and his family.

[Narrator]

Suddenly, chaos. Deputy Swanger is struck in the head with a large rock. He collapses to the ground. In gripping footage, his fellow deputies are seen dragging him to safety. A desperate race against time to save one of their own.

[Nancy Grace]

While he is putting on a brave face tonight, along with fiance Stefania Pomfrey, he is facing very comprehensive and complex surgery. Listen.

[Reporter]

Dalton now suffers complications that stem from being on the ventilator while in a coma. Tracheal stenosis. This narrowing of the trachea could be from Dalton having to be forcefully intubated while he was having seizures or possibly by the breathing tube. He has already had three unsuccessful surgeries, and the next surgery he faces is very dangerous and has an extremely long recovery time. And that is only after they can find a hospital with a highly specialized group known as a complex Airway Team.

[Nancy Grace]

A complex airway team. Dr. Kindle crowns. What is that?

[Dr. Kendall Krantz]

So in this situation where the individual or the officer. Sorry. Has a post intubation syndrome where his. Basically the tissue of his trachea was damaged from the intubation and it's basically closing up and making his airway smaller and smaller and smaller, they have to do something to open that back up so he can breathe properly. A complex airway team is one that's going to probably take a portion of his trachea.

[Reporter]

Crowns.

[Nancy Grace]

Crowns. Crowns. I know in middle school English, you have the teacher write a sentence and dissect it. Here's the verb, here's the noun, here's the adjective, the adverb. Okay, slow it down then. All right, no problem.

[Dr. Kendall Krantz]

I was also very bad at grammar.

[Nancy Grace]

When you have to have. When you have to have the ventilator, it goes down your trach. Your trachea right here, I think. Okay. And when you have the ventilator force down your trachea, it damages the trachea or can damage the trachea. So, yes. What would that damage be? For instance, with swinger, what is the damage? How bad can it be?

[Dr. Kendall Krantz]

So your mucosal membranes, like your mouth, are very, very easily disrupted or damaged. And you're pushing this tube into the throat while someone's seizing. And that damage can be a rubbing away of the mucosal lining, basically making an ulcer, an ulceration. And he has this tube in his throat for a period of time, and that ulceration can't heal. So how it heals is by scarring. And the scarring itself can become so bad that will decrease the airway. And that is what has happened to the officer is his scarring from the intubation has decreased his airway space, making it hard for him to breathe. And what they're going to have to do is take a piece of his trachea out and try and attach the unaffected areas of his trachea back together, which is called an anastomosis, or potentially do a reconstruction where they use cartilage grafts or synthetic material to try and rebuild the area.

[Nancy Grace]

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace, Deputy Dalton Swanger, and Stefania, you may need to help him because I don't know if he's going to tell me the truth. When you think about the fact you've already had three very complex surgeries and now you have this ahead of you, how are you holding up?

[Deputy Dalton Swanger]

It's extremely mentally daunting because, you know, we were at a point where, like, oh, you know, the TBI I received GCS 3, which is the most severe classification you can get. I was like out of the frying pan, but now it feels like I'm kind of in fire with it. So it is extremely mentally daunting thinking of them cutting a portion of your airway out. But, you know, I've relied heavily in my faith and you know, relied heavily on God for this and that's probably great comfort.

[Nancy Grace]

Stevania, I understand that there are only a few hospitals that perform this. Is it because it's very dangerous and complex?

[Stefania Pumphrey]

His is a unique case because of how quickly the scar tissue is growing again. You're supposed the surgeries that he had that were unsuccessful, they're supposed to last one to two months if they don't fix the problem. And his were lasting maybe a week where he could breathe slightly easier and then he would just feel like he was suffocating again and it would close up further. So he's a pretty unique case and it's also really close to his vocals. So it's just more complex than what a normal case would be.

[Nancy Grace]

What it's very close to is what.

[Stefania Pumphrey]

Vocal cords, it's 2 centimeters below.

[Nancy Grace]

So if anything goes wrong, he won't be able to speak. Deputy Kirchner, I understand that since Swanger incident you had a head on collision with a fleeing suspect, is that right?

[Deputy Matthew Kirchner]

Yes, ma'. Am. I was passenger of my patrol car with my trainee who was driving. Yes.

[Nancy Grace]

And you are facing an upcoming surgery as well.

[Deputy Matthew Kirchner]

I've had three surgeries so far and I have a very large surgery coming up on October 30th.

[Nancy Grace]

What is the surgery?

[Deputy Matthew Kirchner]

My injury was a shattered ankle. I had all three bones in the ankle shattered. But none of the healing, none of the bones are healing. And after several consultations and recommendations, my ankles to be amputated on the 30th.

[Nancy Grace]

What is your frame of mind, Deputy Kirchner?

[Deputy Matthew Kirchner]

It's an emotional roller coaster. I am trying to imagine life without a foot. It's something that I never could imagine. My pain is unbearable every single day of it. It's a relief to know that that pain will be gone. But I'm very sad that I'm losing my foot and I wish there was something else that could be done, but doesn't seem like that's possible.

[Nancy Grace]

When you joined the force, Kirchner, did you ever imagine this would happen?

[Deputy Matthew Kirchner]

No, I don't think anybody ever joins the force thinking something's going to happen. You know, I went 27 years before it happened. I've been very Lucky I, I'm blessed. The agency that I work for has been fantastic and everybody around me has been great, but I, but I never thought that this would happen. Never.

[Nancy Grace]

Deputy Kirchner facing his own serious surgery. The amputation from the ankle down after a head on collision with a fleeing suspect. I'm donating to his GoFundMe and if you feel so moved, it's on GoFundMe Blue Line Tennessee Inc. Support Knox County Deputy Matthew Matt Kirchner K I R C H N E R He would never ask for it on his own. I we researched it. He did not ask us to do this. To Deputy Dalton Swanger. You're facing a life threatening, extensive and complex surgery. What is your frame of mind?

[Deputy Dalton Swanger]

The way I'm viewing it, the way I'm approaching it. Like I said, I've relied very heavily in my faith and I'm trying to view it as a positive thing that God's given me a chance to see, like, what I'm made of and how resilient I can be. And I'm going to approach this from the absent mindset that as painful and grueling as this being, I'll crawl out from underneath it, do whatever it takes to get back to having the badge on the chest. And so it's terrifying. But I know for a limb, my heart, that no matter what happens and how bad this gets, I want to get back to doing what I love.

[Nancy Grace]

Swagger. One more thing. You were telling me that when you were in a coma or when you were about to go into a coma, you were hearing, I believe you said, a fellow deputy. I don't know if it was real or if it was in your mind telling you, you have to keep breathing.

[Deputy Dalton Swanger]

Yes, ma'.

[Nancy Grace]

Am. How did you make yourself keep breathing in the visualization?

[Deputy Dalton Swanger]

I was in a concrete hallway and it was almost like a horror movie. It's like, it was like flickering lights and I was surrounded by gray men, surgeons, kind of without a face. And I was in this hospital bed and I remember just pouring sweat and there was a deputy saying, you can live, you can do this, but you have to keep breathing or you will die. So I put in that visualization I was having, whether it was a dream, a hallucination. I just put all of my eggs into the basket of if I can just keep breathing, I'll make it out of this. So I just remembered sitting in that hallucination, going, and I just did that over and over for what felt like an eternity in that, you know, hallucinated hallway or a dreamlike hallway for those.

[Nancy Grace]

Of you that are listening or watching tonight. Again, they did not ask for this. We researched it and found it. Please go to his GoFundMe. We are support Deputy Dalton Swanger and family. Both of these deputies have a very, very long row to hoe. And I want both of them to know how much you mean to us, to all of us. We go about our days assuming you're there, when the truth is if you weren't there, we wouldn't be here. Nobody would be protecting us. Nobody would be catching the bad guys and putting them away from us and away from our children. But you do that day and night with no thought of your own safety. And in addition to the GoFundMes, we are bringing down a power much more powerful. We are calling on a power much greater than a dollar bill. You will both be in our prayers until you are well. Thank you for everyone joining us tonight. And now we stop to remember an American hero, Officer Brandon Paul S. Dorff, of Bay St. Louis Police Department, Mississippi. Just 23, shot and killed in the line of duty. Survived by a grieving mother and father, Ian, also in law enforcement. Siblings Lily, Sophia, Jordana, Chloe and Andrew. American hero Officer Brandon Paul Esdorf, Nancy Grace, signing off. Goodbye, friend.

[Stefania Pumphrey]

This is an iHeart podcast.