Governor's Medal 2020 Class, awarded on Sept. 1, 2021

Mitchell D. Griffin, Dustin P. Hitchcock and Michael W. Mertz, St. John Police Department; Chad W. Hembree, Woodson Terrace Police Department; and Darion Meeks, Kinloch Fire Department

On the night of June 22, 2020, first responders were dispatched to an Applebee’s restaurant on St. Charles Rock Road in St. John for an active shooter incident with several victims. A customer had left his table, retrieved a gun from his vehicle, and reentered the restaurant, shooting randomly. At the scene, witnesses informed St. John Police officers Griffin, Hitchcock and Mertz that the gunman had fled and that there were three gunshot victims inside. Two victims were on one side of the restaurant; the third was on the other side. Officers Griffin and Mertz first went to the two victims who were together. One was already deceased. Officers Griffin and Mertz tended to the survivor, whose injuries were serious, but not life threatening. There was now a loud commotion on the other side of the restaurant. There, Officer Hitchcock and Captain Darion Meeks of the Kinloch Fire Department were providing life-saving care to a gunshot victim who was in desperate need of immediate attention. It was a fellow firefighter from the Kinloch department who had been shot while off-duty and dining at the restaurant with Meeks. Officer Mertz, as on-scene supervisor, oversaw securing the chaotic crime scene, preservation of evidence and identifying witnesses. Griffin went to the victim’s aid, assisting Captain Meeks and Officer Hitchcock. The victim had been shot in the head and was bleeding profusely as she lay on the floor between rows of tables. She also had injuries to both arms. Officer Hitchcock applied a tourniquet to the victim’s left arm and advised St. Louis County dispatch to expedite an ambulance to the scene. Hitchcock and Meeks then determined there was no time to wait for an ambulance because of the severity of the trauma – immediate transport to a hospital was required in a patrol vehicle. Woodson Terrace Police Officer Chad Hembree, Officer Griffin and Captain Meeks then carried the victim outside to Officer Griffin’s patrol vehicle. Griffin then rushed the victim to DePaul Hospital, with Captain Meeks continuing to provide medical care to the victim. In the middle of a chaotic shooting scene, through a combination of teamwork, quick-thinking and resourcefulness, the actions of Captain Meeks, and officers Hitchcock, Griffin, Hembree and Mertz played a crucial role in saving the life of an innocent victim. The alleged gunman was arrested early the next day. (Officer Mertz is now an officer with the Crestwood Police Department.)