JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – More than 30 first responders and civilians were honored Tuesday as Governor Mike Kehoe awarded them Missouri Public Safety Medals for heroic service that goes above and beyond the typical call of duty.

Below is a list of recipients as well as the story behind their medals from the Missouri Department of Public Safety:

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. 

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. 

Tony Carey, nominated by Kansas City Police Department – At about 9:40 a.m. on Oct. 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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

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.