Governor Kehoe awards Missouri Public Safety Medals to first responders and civilians…

JEFFERSON CITY - Governor Mike Kehoe this afternoon awarded Missouri Public Safety Medals to 29 first responders, two corrections officers, and a court officer for heroic and life-saving actions during 2024. Four of the awards were presented posthumously for those killed in the line of duty. The awards - the Medal of Valor, Governor's Award, and Red, White and Blue Heart Award - are Missouri's highest recognitions for public safety officers acting during critical incidents. The Governor also presented Public Safety Civilian Partnership Awards to six civilians for courageously assisting first responders during emergency situations in 2024.

"We ask a great deal of Missouri's first responders, and they routinely deliver for us beyond all expectations - fearlessly taking on dangerous criminals and risking their own lives to protect others," Governor Kehoe said. "The men and women we honored today ended violent threats, saved the lives of crash victims, protected people under armed attack, and engineered life-saving technical rescues. Sadly, four of the heroes recognized today lost their lives working to assist others - their ultimate sacrifice will never be forgotten. We also honored six civilians who came to the aid of first responders and put their own safety at risk to help their fellow Missourians."

"Being a first responder is a calling that means putting the safety of others ahead of your own and sacrificing time with family and friends to respond to emergencies 24/7," Department of Public Safety Director Mark James said. "The heroism, professionalism and dedication displayed by this group of responders once again confirms how much we owe the men and women who wear a uniform and a badge and live up to their oaths of office. We're extremely indebted to the fallen heroes we honored with the Red, White and Blue Heart Award recipients who paid the ultimate price of their heroic service. We also greatly appreciate the civilians we honored, who demonstrated remarkable courage and concern for others."

Family members and colleagues were on hand for the awards presentation during the Jefferson City ceremony. The award recipients and the acts for which they were honored are as follows:

Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award: Awarded to a civilian who has provided valuable or courageous assistance to members of a Missouri public safety agency in an emergency situation.

Terry Mefford and Kenton Parsons, nominated by Shelby County Sheriff's Office - At about 8 a.m. on July 8, 2024, Terry Mefford observed an SUV driving east on U.S. Highway 36 at about 5 m.p.h. just east of Lentner. Mefford called Shelby County Sheriff Arron Fredrickson, who requested that he follow the vehicle. Mefford turned around, and observed the vehicle pull onto the shoulder and come to a stop beside a deep concrete drainage ditch, but the SUV was highly unstable and teetering on the sloped surface. Mefford and another motorist who had stopped, Kenton Parsons, exited their vehicles and grabbed hold of the vehicle, attempting to use their weight to counterbalance it so it didn't fall into the ditch. They called to the driver, but she was unconscious. Despite their efforts, the vehicle overturned into the ditch, landing on its roof. Sheriff Fredrickson was now on scene and he and Parsons descended the steep embankment and found the driver's head completely submerged in water. Mefford retrieved a crowbar, which the sheriff used to break out both passenger side windows. The sheriff and Parsons, working in water up to their knees, extricated the woman and Sheriff Fredrickson began CPR. The victim regained a pulse and began breathing again. She was transported to a hospital and made a full recovery. Mefford and Parsons' selfless actions, without any concern for their own safety, were critical in saving the life of the 62-year-old driver, who made a full recovery. Mefford is a Shelby County commissioner.

Alan Crook and Luis Carlos Garza, nominated by Hazelwood Police Department - On the evening of Sept. 28, 2024, as Hazelwood Police officers investigated an armed robbery that had just occurred, Officer Brandon Runyon located the suspect in the 7400 block of North Lindbergh Blvd. The suspect punched Runyon in the face and continued to attack the officer. The officer and suspect fell to the ground, where a backpack stolen by the suspect, opened. Cash and a handgun fell near the struggle. About 30 seconds into the struggle, motorists Alan Crook and Luis Garza recognized that Officer Runyon needed immediate assistance and stopped. Mr. Garza placed his body weight on the suspect's legs. Mr. Crook drew his own pistol and pointed it at the attacker while the officer now struggled to handcuff the suspect. Additional Hazelwood Police officers soon arrived and were able to assist in handcuffing the suspect. With complete disregard for their own safety, Mr. Crook and Mr. Garza each made the decision to intervene in a highly dangerous situation and prevented Officer Runyon from further injury, or perhaps worse.

Tony Carey, nominated by Kansas City Police Department - At about 9:40 a.m. on October 16, 2024, Tony Carey was at work at 72nd Street and Troost Avenue when he heard a loud crash nearby. He went to the front of the business to investigate and found a two-vehicle crash scene and Kansas City Police Officer Jon Powell lying in the roadway near his police motorcycle. Mr. Carey checked on the officer's condition and found him to be unconscious and critically injured. Mr. Carey was not familiar with police equipment but located the radio on the downed motorcycle and began pressing buttons, which eventually activated the emergency status of the radio. Mr. Carey then made contact with the injured civilian driver of the other vehicle and shut off her SUV. He then went back to Officer Powell and remained with him until first responders arrived. Mr. Carey's activation of the emergency button of Officer Powell's radio alerted dispatch that the officer was in trouble. The dispatcher sent units to the area Officer Powell had just cleared. Upon arrival, officers called for EMS and began life-saving efforts. The officer was transported to a hospital where his condition stabilized. He continues to recover from his injuries. Mr. Carey's willingness to help and his immediate response quickly got critically important medical assistance to Officer Powell and played an important role in preserving Officer Powell's life and aiding his recovery.

Sean MacDonald, nominated by Missouri Department of Conservation - On the night of Nov. 4, 2024, heavy rainfall led to flooding and swift-water conditions on Supplemental Route N Highway in Wright County. A woman was trapped in her sedan about one mile west of Highway 95. Missouri Department of Conservation Corporal Justin Emery and Missouri State Highway Patrol Corporal Cole Chatman responded to a location about 500 yards downstream from the victim as the fast-moving floodwater rose and conditions worsened. Mountain Grove city employee Sean MacDonald was at the scene with a large, wheeled front-end loader. Despite the challenging conditions, Mr. MacDonald did not hesitate. He had the two officers, who were wearing life vests, climb into the loader's bucket and then navigated the vehicle through the high swift water to the trapped teenage driver. Emery and Chatman attached a life vest to a rescue throw bag and tossed it to the victim. Once she was secured in the vest, operator MacDonald positioned the bucket alongside the flooded vehicle and slowly lowered the officers to the trapped teen. Emery and Chatman were then able to safely pull the victim from her car into the bucket. MacDonald then carefully maneuvered the loader back upstream to a waiting ambulance, where the victim received medical care. On a pitch-black night with floodwater swirling all around him, Sean MacDonald was willing to risk his own safety and calmly led a daring rescue of a trapped victim.

Governor's Medal: Awarded to a group of public safety officers in recognition of acts above and beyond the call of normal duty during a critical incident in which the collective performance of the group was essential to the successful resolution of the incident.

John R. Henry, Cary F. Porter, Brett D. Tappendorf, Kristopher "Blake" Geren and Peter D. Hummel, Missouri State Highway Patrol - On Jan. 24, 2024, a suspect allegedly attempted to abduct a woman in Quincy, Ill., and then fled Illinois law enforcement into Missouri. Hannibal Police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol picked up the pursuit. Patrol Field Training Officer Master Sergeant Henry and Trooper Geren began pursuing the suspect's vehicle on U.S. Highway 36 in Shelby County, where it struck a tire deflation device deployed by Corporal Porter near Clarence, Mo. The vehicle exited at Missouri 151 and traveled down an embankment where it became disabled. As Henry and Geren approached, the suspect fired a round from a high-powered rifle, striking the driver side of the windshield. Geren, who was driving, was struck in the left shoulder by bullet fragments. Corporal Tappendorf and Trooper Hummel maneuvered their Patrol vehicles around Henry and Geren's vehicle and tactically positioned them to provide cover from the gunman. The gunman then fired a second round from his high-powered rifle that struck Tappendorf's vehicle. Tappendorf and Hummel exited their vehicles and returned fire with their Patrol rifles as the suspect continued firing. The gunman sustained multiple gunshot wounds and subsequently surrendered. Three rifles and a shotgun and additional ammunition were recovered inside the gunman's vehicle. Trooper Geren was transported from the scene and has made a full recovery and returned to duty. He, Master Sergeant Henry, Corporal Tappendorf, Trooper Hummel and Corporal Porter each responded heroically to a highly dangerous situation in which a heavily armed violent criminal targeted officers using lethal force. The officers worked in tandem to communicate and protect one another, and in so doing removed a menacing criminal who threatened the community.

Shane Engelhardt, Jason Karr, Michael Schultz, Matthew Smart, Michael Bainbridge, Jesse Berendzen, Lisa Layton-Brinker and Justin Bryan, Jefferson City Fire Department - At about 2:40 a.m. on Nov. 30, 2024, a gas leak led to a house explosion and fire, and residents and pets trapped in the collapsed structure. The Jefferson City Fire Department's Squad 2, consisting of Captain Schultz, Driver/Engineer Engelhardt and Firefighter Bryan, was first to arrive to a chaotic and rapidly evolving scene - the crumbled structure, was highly unstable and burning. Because of the conditions, the department's Special Operations and Rescue Team (SORT) was activated. Captain Smart, Driver/Engineer Michael Bainbridge, Driver/Engineer Jesse Berendzen, Driver/Engineer Lisa Layton-Brinker and Driver/Engineer Jason Karr joined with Schultz, Engelhardt and Bryan and initiated a challenging highly technical rescue operation while simultaneously working to suppress the fire. Three victims had been able to escape from the ruins themselves; the JCFD team and Jefferson City Police officers assisted a fourth victim out of the rubble, but the final victim could not be located. Eventually, the team made verbal contact with the victim. He described his location as beneath two dogs that were also trapped. Once the dogs had been extricated, the victim, who was buried in the basement, signaled his location by how well he could see a firefighter's flashlight. The rescue operation would require the team to perform extensive cutting and complex tunneling operations to reach and then extricate the victim. Over the next three hours, the team navigated the difficulties that came with an extremely wobbly structure and unsteady ground, a sustained gas-fed fire, environmental hazards along with reassuring a trapped victim who had suffered burns and was highly hypothermic. The team persevered despite the many obstacles and was cheered when the final victim that they rescued was healthy enough to visit with them several weeks after the valiant rescue effort. Jason Karr and Shane Engelhardt have been promoted to captain.

Medal of Valor: Missouri's highest award recognizing public safety officers who exhibit exceptional courage, extraordinary decisiveness and presence of mind, and unusual swiftness of action, regardless of his or her personal safety, in the attempt to save or protect human life.

Kevin Drury, St. Charles Fire Department and Dennis O'Leary, St. Charles Police Department - At about 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 21, 2024, Firefighter/Paramedic Drury was in his personal vehicle traveling to work at St. Charles Fire Department Station 6 for that duty day. Drury received a phone alert that the ambulance he would be working on that day had just been dispatched for a fire call. The fire was very close to his route. When he next saw in the dispatch notes that there were possibly two victims trapped, he rerouted to the fire. As he pulled up to the address, St. Charles Police Officer O'Leary was sprinting to the mobile home. Drury and O'Leary opened the unlocked front door to heavy smoke and near-zero visibility. The door would not fully open because of hoarder conditions. Drury crouched low, crawled about four feet into the room and yelled "Fire department, call out." A man and woman responded that they were in a back bedroom. Drury stepped back and shared the information with Officer O'Leary, who was using his flashlight to attempt to illuminate a path for Drury. Drury attempted to get farther into the house in a prone position to minimize smoke and heat exposure. This time he got six feet in before encountering an overturned couch. From his position on the floor, he attempted to push the couch out of the way, but the hoarder conditions prevented it. He retreated to the door for air, where O'Leary, with the flashlight, was also struggling to breathe. Drury repeatedly crawled in and out as he moved debris and then went out for air as conditions deteriorated - increased heat, smoke, and there was now active fire in the front room. Finally, aided by O'Leary's light, Drury was able to find a male victim lying on the floor. He pulled him by his feet toward the front door. O'Leary and other police officers got the victim onto the front porch. Medics tended to the victim and Drury went back inside and called out to the other victim. The victim called back but was disoriented. Drury had to crawl out to the porch for air. He then briefed arriving firefighters of the situation. Meanwhile Officer O'Leary had advanced inside the burning structure. He found the other victim and began pulling her out with another St. Charles Police officer. Drury assisted in getting her out of the residence. He then assisted with the woman's care until additional ambulances arrived. Drury was later treated at a hospital and released. Both patients have made full recoveries. Without protective equipment or breathing apparatus, Drury and Officer O'Leary struggled against heat, smoke, near-zero visibility and hoarder conditions. Other than O'Leary's flashlight they had nothing else to rely on beyond their relentless determination to save two lives.

Luke J. Buchanan and Steven D. Thompson, Independence Police Department - On Feb. 29, 2024, Independence Police Department dispatch received a 911 call from a neighbor advising that a sheriff's deputy had just been shot and was down in the doorway at 1111 North Elsea Smith Road in Independence. As officers responded to the scene, dispatch determined the victim was Drexel Mack, a court officer with Jackson County Circuit Court. The first officers on the scene were Officer Cody Allen, Officer Thompson and Officer Buchanan. The Independence officers quickly planned a rescue attempt. As the officers arrived at the doorway, Officers Thompson and Buchanan provided cover while Officer Allen attempted to drag Mr. Mack to safety. Shots were immediately fired from inside the residence, striking Officer Allen. Thompson and Buchanan returned fire as they sought cover. While awaiting additional assistance, Buchanan realized he had been shot in the stomach beneath his ballistic vest; Thompson realized he had been grazed in the arm. Within minutes, officers surrounded the residence, and a SWAT team made entry and engaged the gunman, with several shots being fired. A suspect was eventually taken into custody. Officer Allen and Court Officer Drexel Mack were transported to a hospital but succumbed to their wounds. Officers Thompson and Buchanan each recovered. Officers Allen, Thompson and Buchanan acted heroically that day. They willingly risked their own lives in an attempt to save the life of Mr. Mack. Officer Buchanan medically retired because of his injuries.

Ben Grote and Jason Miller, Greene County Sheriff's Office - On June 17, 2024, members of the Greene County Sheriff's Office Fugitive Apprehension Unit responded to a house to arrest a man wanted for drug trafficking. Investigator Miller was assigned to the back of the residence as two deputies made contact with the suspect at the front door. Shortly after the suspect closed the front door, the back door opened, and Investigator Miller instructed a man and a woman to exit the residence. Sergeant Grote was arriving on the scene and assisted Miller. As the two deputies questioned the male and female witnesses about anyone else being in the residence and the presence of weapons, shots were fired in rapid succession from inside the residence. This was followed by several shots out of the front of the house and then several more rounds fired out the back. Sergeant Grote was struck by shattering glass. Miller and Grote instructed the two witnesses to take cover behind a truck. The woman cried hysterically and collapsed. Miller pulled the woman behind the truck for cover. Miller and Grote flanked the two witnesses to provide additional protection. Soon after, a gunman exited the residence and walked in the direction of Miller, Grote and the two witnesses, firing from a short-barrel AR-15 pistol. Miller and Grote returned fire, driving the gunman back. Miller was struck in the abdomen but was protected by his ballistic vest. He and Grote continued returning fire and drove the gunman back into the house. Miller and Grote then evacuated the two witnesses to a location where they were safe from the gunman. Miller was transported to a hospital for medical evaluation. Negotiators talked the gunman into surrendering and he was taken into custody. In a highly dangerous and dynamic situation, while repeatedly under fire from a heavily armed gunman, Sergeant Grote and Investigator Miller calmly and courageously responded, focused on protecting the witnesses regardless of the danger to themselves.

Arron Fredrickson, Shelby County Sheriff's Office - At about 8 a.m. on July 8, 2024, Sheriff Fredrickson received a phone call from Shelby County Commissioner Terry Mefford that an SUV was traveling at about 5 m.p.h. on U.S. 36. The sheriff asked Mefford to follow the vehicle and immediately went to investigate. Upon arriving at a one-vehicle crash scene just east of Lentner, the sheriff found Mefford, and another good Samaritan had just failed to keep the vehicle from falling into a flooded ditch. The sheriff and the other good Samaritan, Kenton Parsons descended a steep embankment and found an overturned SUV in knee-deep water. The driver's head was submerged in the water, and she was not breathing. Sheriff Fredrickson used a crowbar to break out two windows and he and Parsons pulled the 62-year-old woman from the vehicle. The sheriff began CPR, and the driver regained a pulse and began breathing again. She has made a full recovery. From the moment Sheriff Fredrickson received a call about a slow-moving vehicle, he displayed leadership and professionalism and acted with urgency. His actions helped save a life on July 8, 2024.

Justin D. Hedrick and Trey A. Gaedke, Missouri State Highway Patrol - On the evening on Sept. 6, 2024, the Highway Patrol received information a suspect from Texas was likely traveling to Missouri in a Range Rover with a woman he had accosted, and she was in extreme danger. A license plate reader confirmed his vehicle was on Interstate 44 and approaching the St. Louis area. Trooper Gaedke located the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop but the driver fled the scene. Gaedke and Trooper Hedrick then pursued the vehicle, which exited the interstate, traveling on local streets before rolling over in a single vehicle crash. The driver opened the vehicle door and produced a handgun. Gaedke and Hedrick ordered him to drop the gun, but he refused. Gaedke and Hedrick exchanged gunfire with the man, who died at the scene. The woman was located deceased in the vehicle; further investigation revealed the gunman had killed her several hours earlier. Gaedke and Hedrick acted courageously, ending the threat posed by a desperate, armed killer who put innocent Missourians at risk.

Justin S. Bax, Gardner B. Pottorff, Callaway County Sheriff's Office and Lana M. Karhoff, North Callaway County Fire Protection District - At about 3:35 a.m. on Oct. 14, 2024, Callaway County Sheriff's Deputy Pottorff initiated a traffic stop on Interstate 70 at mile marker 139 and found that the driver was wanted for multiple felony warrants. Corporal Bax arrived to assist Deputy Pottorff. The driver refused commands to roll down his window and Deputy Pottorff broke the driver side window. After repeated commands, the driver refused to leave the vehicle and moved his hands in a threatening manner. Deputy Pottorff deployed a Taser, but after being tased, the driver reached down, pulled a pistol and shot Pottorff and Bax multiple times. Both Pottorff and Bax returned fire, striking the gunman multiple times. Additional deputies arrived at the scene and covered the gunman, who continued to wave his arms and stick his feet out a window. North Callaway Fire Protection District Chief Karhoff determined that because of the deputies' medical needs, she and the district's volunteers would respond to the active shooting scene instead of staging and waiting. After communicating with the sheriff's office, they advanced to the scene and provided immediate medical care. Once Corporal Bax's bleeding was controlled with a tourniquet, Chief Karhoff decided to transport him directly to a hospital in her vehicle, instead of waiting for an ambulance to arrive at the scene. He was loaded into her vehicle, and she drove him directly to the hospital, as others from the district continued to treat Deputy Pottorf. Corporal Bax returned to full duty in January, Deputy Pottorff endured a longer recovery, which included surgeries, medical complications, and months of rehabilitation. He returned to duty in May. The gunman died at the scene. When coming under attack at close range in the middle of the night, Bax and Pottorff, despite each being shot multiple times, returned fire and ended the threat posed to each other and the community. Chief Karhoff and her fire protection district team responded to a potentially dangerous shooting scene, and she personally transported a wounded deputy to immediate hospital care. She retired from the district this year. Justin Bax has been promoted to sergeant. Gardner Pottorff has been promoted to corporal.

Tiffany Trenary and Levi Fare, Missouri Department of Corrections - On the evening of Oct. 26, 2024 at the Potosi Correctional Center, Officers Fare and Trenary were securing B-wing of Housing Until 6, when an offender refused Officer Trenary's directive to return to his cell. Officer Trenary then instructed the offender to submit to wrist restraints. He refused and struck Officer Trenary in the face multiple times. To protect Officer Trenary and without regard for his own safety, Officer Fare stepped in to assist and was also struck by the offender, who then began stabbing Officer Trenary in the head and face with a prison made weapon. Without regard for his own safety, Officer Fare put himself between Officer Trenary and the offender and was also stabbed in the head. Despite their injuries, the officers pursued the offender as he ran away and were able to capture and restrain him until other corrections officers arrived. Officers Trenary and Fare were both transported to a hospital where they received stitches and wound care. While under violent attack from an armed offender, each of the officers acted with professionalism, courage and concern for the other. Officer Fare has left the Department of Corrections in good standing.

Tyler Griffin, Crystal City Police Department - On Dec. 8, 2024, Officer Griffin was dispatched to the neighboring town of Festus, where a gunman wearing body armor and armed with two handguns was firing one of the weapons near a fast food restaurant. He had already murdered his girlfriend in Arkansas, and her body was inside his pickup truck. While rushing to the scene, Officer Griffin received information that the gunman had fled police and crashed his truck in Crystal City. One of the first Crystal City Police officers on the scene exchanged shots with the gunman, who was forced to the ground and dropped his weapons. Once at the scene, Griffin took a close tactical position and gave verbal commands to the gunman, who had regained control of his weapons. Because the gunman posed an unmistakable deadly threat to the community, Officer Griffin shot him several times with his department-issued rifle. The Arkansas man, who had no ties to the community, survived and faces a murder charge in Arkansas. In a chaotic, dynamic and highly dangerous situation, Officer Griffin was calm and steadfast, focused on ending the threat and protecting the community.

Red, White and Blue Heart Award: This annual award may be presented to any first responder who under honorable circumstances is critically, seriously, or fatally injured while performing official duties in the line of duty. The injury must require long-term treatment by a medical professional and considerable loss of time from duty.

Drexel Mack, 16th Judicial Circuit of Missouri and Cody Allen, Independence Police Department - On Feb. 29, 2024, Court Officer Mack and another court officer went to a house in Independence to serve a writ of possession because the property had gone into foreclosure due to unpaid taxes. When there was no answer at the door, they had a property maintenance contractor drill out the lock on the front door. Court Officer Mack was then fatally shot from inside the house. Mack's colleague called 911 for help. Independence Police Officer Allen was one of the first officers on the scene, along with Officers Luke J. Buchanan and Steven D. Thompson. The officers quickly attempted a rescue of Mr. Mack. As they arrived at the doorway, Officer Allen attempted to drag Mr. Mack to safety, with Thompson and Buchanan providing cover. Shots were immediately fired from inside the residence striking Officer Allen. Thompson and Buchanan returned fire as they sought cover. Buchanan was shot in the stomach, beneath his ballistic vest; Thompson was grazed in the arm. Within minutes, officers surrounded the house, and a SWAT team made entry and engaged the gunman, with several shots being fired. The suspect was eventually taken into custody. Officer Allen and Court Officer Mack were transported to a hospital but succumbed to their wounds. Drexel Mack's work delivering legal documents to the public was essential to the function of the courts and providing justice to the community. Officer Allen will be remembered as the hero he was, a police officer who literally ran toward danger and put protecting the life of another above his own life.

Matthew Tobben, Boone County Fire Protection District - Heavy rain overnight led to the flooding of Bear Creek in Columbia before dawn on July 8, 2024. The Columbia Fire Department responded to reports of several victims in the water, but the responders' boat was underpowered for the swift water conditions. Assistant Chief Tobben was among the Boone County Fire Protection District personnel who responded to a mutual aid request. Upon arrival, Columbia firefighters reported they had attempted to rescue two victims stranded in trees in the floodwater upstream from the launch point on Bear Creek Trail. The Boone County team launched its boat with Assistant Chief Tobben as the operator, and a captain as the rescuer. The two succeeded in retrieving the two victims and attempted to continue upstream to a predetermined drop-off point when the boat's engine failed. The boat floated downstream uncontrolled - backwards at first, then sideways. As it passed the launch point, the engine became entangled with a rope line set up earlier as part of the rescue operation. This caused the boat to overturn and ultimately become submerged in the flooded creek. All four persons in the boat bailed out as it began to sink. The two flood victims and the Boone County fire captain were able to extricate themselves from the creek as they floated downstream and were rescued by Boone County and Columbia personnel, but Chief Tobben could not be located. A four-hour search could not find Tobben. Once the water level had subsided, Chief Tobben's body was discovered submerged in the creek, about 70 feet downstream from the sunken boat. It appeared that as he bailed out of the boat his left ankle had become entangled in a rescue throw rope attached to the bow of the boat, and the swift current forced him underwater. The force of the water removed Chief Tobben's rescue helmet and personal flotation device. Tobben, who was the district's assistant chief for training, had just joined the fire protection district two months earlier after serving almost 20 years with the Union Fire Protection District, where he had risen to Assistant Chief. He was a 12-year veteran of Missouri Task Force 1, Missouri's federal urban search and rescue team, held many specialized certifications and was the ultimate professional and fire service leader.

David Lee III, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department - At 8:38 a.m. on Sept. 22, 2024, in pouring rain, Officer Lee, who was assigned to the Traffic Safety Division, responded to a crash on Interstate 70 near Grand Avenue. Officer Lee activated his emergency lights and positioned his patrol car behind a one-vehicle crash on the shoulder and fourth lane of eastbound I-70. He went to the rear of the vehicle and began getting traffic cones from the cargo area to place them in the traffic lanes for visibility. According to a witness, as Officer Lee was in the process of doing this, a car travelling east on I-70 lost control and began to spin, striking Officer Lee and his patrol car. Officer Lee was treated at the scene by the driver of the vehicle in the initial one-vehicle crash, who was a paramedic, and then transported to a hospital by EMS with extremely critical injuries to his head, legs, and torso. He was pronounced deceased at the hospital. The driver of the vehicle that struck Officer Lee was taken into custody for the DWI death of a law enforcement officer, exceeding the speed limit and operating a vehicle without a valid license. The 24-year-old driver was in the U.S. illegally and was on probation for a domestic battery conviction. Officer Lee dedicated 18 years of his life to serving the people of St. Louis and leaves a legacy of unwavering service and professionalism.

Nominations are now open for heroic acts performed during 2025 and must be received by February 28, 2026. The nominating forms are available on the Missouri Department of Public Safety website at https://dps.mo.gov/medal/.

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