Samburg, Tennessee, Police Chief Chris Cummings, 53, died Sunday Dec. 10 after suffering a heart attack.
The Officer Down Memorial Page reports that Cummings was helping tear down a beaver dam that was causing flooding on a local road before the medical crisis.
“Chief Cummings worked with other officers to tear down the structure, which was solid and difficult to tear apart. He stated that he did not feel well and was going back to the station. An hour later, when officers returned to the station, they found Chief Cummings unresponsive. Despite resuscitation efforts, he was pronounced deceased,” ODMP reports.
Chief Cummings was an Army veteran of the Iraq War.
Prior to becoming chief of Samburg he was an Obion County Sheriff’s sergeant and a Union City police officer.
Chief Cumming is survived by his parents, wife, son, stepson, and girlfriend.