Red, White and Blue Heart Award 2023 Class, awarded on Sept. 12, 2024

At about 9:30 p.m. on March 12, 2023, Detective Sergeant Mason Griffith and Officer Adam Sullentrup responded to a disturbance call at the Casey’s convenience store on Highway 19 in Hermann. When the officers arrived, both were shot by a gunman, who was wanted for multiple outstanding felony arrest warrants. The officers returned fire, but the gunman fled. He was captured the following day after barricading himself in a house. Officer Sullentrup was shot in the head and suffered a traumatic head injury. Because of the extent of his injury, he spent several months in a rehabilitation hospital in Colorado before returning home in November 2023. Officer Sullentrup undergoes continuing physical therapy and will remain on disability for the remainder of his life because of the extent of his injuries.

At about 9:30 p.m. on March 12, 2023, Detective Sergeant Mason Griffith and Officer Adam Sullentrup responded to a disturbance call at the Casey’s convenience store on Highway 19 in Hermann. When the officers arrived, both were shot by a gunman, who was wanted for multiple outstanding felony arrest warrants. The officers returned fire, but the gunman fled. He was captured the following day after barricading himself in a house. Detective Sergeant Griffith was shot in the chest and died from his injuries at Hermann Area District Hospital. Griffith, 34, also served as the Chief of the Rosebud Police Department and was known for being accessible to residents at all hours and had a history of deescalating many situations in which individuals were experiencing behavioral health crises.

On Feb. 15, 2023, Officer Muhlbauer and K-9 Champ were in their patrol vehicle eastbound on East Truman Road with a green light when a driver ran through a red light at Benton Boulevard and crashed his vehicle into their vehicle. The motorist, who was driving at approximately 89 miles per hour, also killed a pedestrian. Officer Muhlbauer devoted his life to protecting the residents of Kansas City and for 20 years he excelled in his chosen profession, including in 2014, when he arrested a notorious murderer who had just killed five people. For the last year of their lives, Muhlbauer and K-9 Champ worked as inseparable partners and guardians of the community.