Red, White and Blue Heart Award 2024 Class, awarded on Sept. 23, 2025

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. Thompson and Buchanan returned fire as they sought cover. Buchanan was shot in the stomach, beneath his ballistic vest; Thompson was grazed in the arm. Within minutes, officers surrounded the house, and a SWAT team made entry and engaged the gunman, with several shots being fired. The suspect was eventually taken into custody. Officer Allen and Court Officer Mack were transported to a hospital but succumbed to their wounds. Drexel Mack’s work delivering legal documents to the public was essential to the function of the courts and providing justice to the community. Officer Allen will be remembered as the hero he was, a police officer who literally ran toward danger and put protecting the life of another above his own life.

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. Thompson and Buchanan returned fire as they sought cover. Buchanan was shot in the stomach, beneath his ballistic vest; Thompson was grazed in the arm. Within minutes, officers surrounded the house, and a SWAT team made entry and engaged the gunman, with several shots being fired. The suspect was eventually taken into custody. Officer Allen and Court Officer Mack were transported to a hospital but succumbed to their wounds. Drexel Mack’s work delivering legal documents to the public was essential to the function of the courts and providing justice to the community. Officer Allen will be remembered as the hero he was, a police officer who literally ran toward danger and put protecting the life of another above his own life.

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. This caused the boat to overturn and ultimately become submerged in the flooded creek. All four persons in the boat bailed out as it began to sink. The two flood victims and the Boone County fire captain were able to extricate themselves from the creek as they floated downstream and were rescued by Boone County and Columbia personnel, but Chief Tobben could not be located. A four-hour search could not find Tobben. Once the water level had subsided, Chief Tobben’s body was discovered submerged in the creek, about 70 feet downstream from the sunken boat. It appeared that as he bailed out of the boat his left ankle had become entangled in a rescue throw rope attached to the bow of the boat, and the swift current forced him underwater. The force of the water removed Chief Tobben’s rescue helmet and personal flotation device. Tobben, who was the district’s assistant chief for training, had just joined the fire protection district two months earlier after serving almost 20 years with the Union Fire Protection District, where he had risen to Assistant Chief. He was a 12-year veteran of Missouri Task Force 1, Missouri’s federal urban search and rescue team, held many specialized certifications and was the ultimate professional and fire service leader.

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.