Red, White and Blue Heart Award 2021 Class, awarded on Sept. 7, 2021

On the morning of September 15, 2021, Officer Madrid-Evans was one of four Independence Police officers who responded to a residence to check for a man wanted on an outstanding aggravated assault warrant. Officer Madrid-Evans had graduated from the police academy two months earlier and was still undergoing field training. As officers encountered the suspect in an open garage area, he quickly removed a handgun from his waistband as he spun around and fired at the closest officer, mortally wounding Officer Madrid-Evans. Another officer returned fire, killing the gunman. Officer Madrid-Evans was just 22 years old, but had proven himself to be a selfless individual, who was committed to helping others and carrying out the highest ideals that are embraced by law enforcement officers. He was an organ donor, and his donation helped sustain the lives of 75 people, including Springfield, Missouri, Police Officer Mark Priebe, who had been paralyzed in the line of duty in 2020, and received a life-saving kidney transplant.

On December 1, 2021, as part of a narcotics investigation, St. Louis County Police detectives attempted to stop a stolen vehicle in north St. Louis County. The driver fled at a high rate of speed. Officers were not in pursuit because of the speed at which the vehicle was traveling. Detective Valentine and his partner were responding to the area to assist fellow narcotics unit officers when their police vehicle was struck head-on by the fleeing vehicle as the suspect crossed the centerline into the wrong lane at a high rate of speed. The collision killed Detective Valentine, who had honorably served the department since 2007. Detective Valentine had devoted his entire adult life to public service. During more than two decades in the military, he had deployed to combat missions in Iraq and Kyrgyzstan. He had honorably served the St. Louis County Police Department for 14 years.

Before dawn on December 22, 2021, Assistant Chief Gladney was overseeing the Boone County Fire Protection District’s response to a traffic crash on westbound Interstate 70. Because a box truck was on its side blocking the right lane and shoulder of the highway, Chief Gladney had activated his emergency warning equipment and had taken a blocking/warning position to the east of the crash scene. Before Chief Gladney could exit his vehicle, a tractor trailer traveling at a high rate of speed in the driving lane failed to slow down and struck Chief Gladney’s vehicle, causing catastrophic damage to the vehicle and killing Chief Gladney. Chief Gladney had spent a total of more than 36 years with the fire protection district and emergency medical services. He ran the district’s EMS bureau and training bureau, where he mentored the next generation of firefighters. He had responded to Ground Zero following the September 11 attacks as a member of Missouri Task Force 1, the state’s federal urban search and rescue team.

At about 10 p.m. on November 11, 2021, Park Ranger Bridges was on patrol and heard radio traffic indicating that Springfield Police officers were searching for an armed person who had caused a disturbance at a business. They had established a perimeter near Glenstone Ave. and Battlefield Road. Bridges, who as a park ranger, has jurisdiction across Greene County, went to the scene and was assigned to take a position on the perimeter. Ranger Bridges soon observed movement in the darkness near a retail business. As he drove toward the movement and illuminated the area with his spotlight, he observed a man who had his back to Ranger Bridges. The man quickly turned and fired ten shots through the front windshield of Ranger Bridges’ vehicle. One shot entered Ranger Bridges’ left wrist and exited through his elbow. Two shots went through his right forearm, breaking the ulna. Bridges exited his vehicle and rolled to the ground, attempting to take cover, but the gunman approached and shot him once through the right leg and twice in his left rib cage. His ballistic vest stopped the shots to his rib cage. The gunman then attempted to disarm Ranger Bridges, who, despite two broken arms and having been shot six times, rolled away to protect his gun and fought him off. Two Springfield police officers arrived on scene and were able to end the threat to Ranger Bridges. Since the attack, he has had multiple surgeries and will undergo additional surgeries in the future.

On the night of December 10, 2021, Trooper Beck attempted to conduct a traffic stop in Springfield, but the motorist fled and his vehicle became disabled. As Trooper Beck approached the driver’s door, the suspect fired a single shot from a shotgun through the driver door window. Although seriously wounded, Trooper Beck courageously returned fire. Trooper Beck was struck in the face, head, neck, and right shoulder, some of the pellets could never be removed. He was transported to a hospital for treatment, where he underwent emergency eye surgery. It was determined a shotgun pellet had penetrated his right eyeball, permanently blinding him in that eye. He later had to undergo surgery to remove the damaged right eye. Trooper Beck recuperated and returned to service with the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

*Colton J. Beck was also awarded the Medal of Valor.