Jefferson City, MO. –On Tuesday, Sept. 15, the Governor Mike Kehoe will award Missouri’s highest public safety honors to 18 law enforcement officers, three members of the fire service, and a paramedic for heroic acts beyond the call of duty in 2025 (three of the awards will be bestowed posthumously). Two civilians will also receive awards for exceptional efforts to assist first responders and save lives in 2025.
Two of those inidividuals comes from the local area.
Jennifer Martin of the Willow Springs Fire Department will be receiving the Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award for rescuing a boy who had fallen through the ice of a frozen pond.
Chief Paramedic Dustin Kirkpatrick of the Oregon County Ambulance District will receive the Medal of Valor for the rescue of an elderly woman who was passed out in a burning, smoke-filled house.
The full list of recipients and the awards they will receive may be reviewed below.
The awards include:
- 6 Missouri Medals of Valor for exceptional courage and heroism in an attempt to protect or save human life;
- 12 Governor’s Medals for heroic acts performed by a team of first responders;
- 4 Red, White and Blue Heart Awards for first responders seriously or fatally injured in the line of duty (3 of the Red, White and Blue Heart awards will be bestowed posthumously); and
- 2 Public Safety Civilian Partnership Awards for civilians who provided valuable or courageous assistance to first responders or the public.
Tuesday, Sept. 15
WHO: Governor Mike Kehoe
Public Safety Director Mark James
Heroic first responders from across Missouri
WHAT: Presentation of Missouri Public Safety Medals – Medal of Valor; Red, White and Blue Heart Award; Governor’s Award; and Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
WHEN: 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: Missouri State Highway Patrol
Law Enforcement Training Academy Gymnasium
1510 East Elm Street
Jefferson City, MO 65101
(The ceremony will be streamed live on the Missouri Department of Public Safety Facebook page beginning at 1:30 p.m: facebook.com/MoPublicSafety)
The award recipients are (ranks and agencies below are those at the time of their award-winning acts):
- Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award:
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- Jennifer Martin, nominated by Willow Springs Fire Department, for rescuing a boy who had fallen through the ice of a frozen pond.
- Elizabeth Lord, nominated by Missouri Department of Transportation, for administering CPR to a MoDOT worker who had stopped breathing after being severely shocked by a light pole that had become electrified.
- Governor’s Medal:
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- Lieutenant Dusty Johnson and Officers Kenneth Carpenter Jr., Adam Miles and Sami Tscherning, Poplar Bluff Police Department, for the rescue and transport of a woman trapped in a collapsed house following an EF-3 tornado.
- Sergeant Todd Derr, Detectives Brandon Harrison, Justin McElroy and Michelle Ritter and Officers Elliott Barton, Jasmine Juares, Derek Rice and Nathaniel Stapleton, St. Joseph Police Department, for the capture of two violent carjackers who repeatedly shot at and rammed the officers’ vehicles during a prolonged vehicle pursuit.
- Medal of Valor:
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- Chief Paramedic Dustin Kirkpatrick, Oregon County Ambulance District, for the rescue of an elderly woman who was passed out in a burning, smoke-filled house.
- Trooper Justin D. Hedrick, Missouri State Highway Patrol, for risking his own life to execute a controlled strike to stop a wrong-way driver whose prolonged route of travel endangered the public.
- Trooper Dustin W. Harrison, Missouri State Highway Patrol, for his role ending the threat posed by a gunman wanted for murder who engaged officers in a shootout in a close quarters combat environment.
- Firefighter Zebulon H. Hoffman, Linn Fire Protection District, for rescuing an injured colleague trapped in a helicopter following a crash that also left Hoffman with severe injuries.
- K-9 Officer Matthew Schneider, Troy Police Department, for the rescue of a driver trapped in a burning vehicle following a high-speed crash.
- Corporal Christopher A. Winter, Missouri State Highway Patrol, for risking his own life to execute a controlled strike to stop a wrong-way driver whose prolonged route of travel endangered the public.
- Red, White and Blue Heart Award:
- Captain Vernon Collett, Johnson County Fire Protection District, died when he experienced a medical emergency fighting a wildland fire.
- Firefighter-Paramedic Graham J. Hoffman, Kansas City Fire Department, was stabbed to death by a patient who was being transported to a hospital in an ambulance.
- K-9 Officer Henry Franklin, Sikeston Department of Public Safety, a member of the Sikeston DPS SWAT team, Franklins was shot and killed by a gunman concealed inside a residence during the service of an arrest warrant.
Officer Jared Timbrook, Lee’s Summit Police Department, was severely wounded by a gunman after Timbrook responded to a domestic disturbance
