Medal Recipient Search
Kevin Drury, St. Charles Fire Department and Dennis O’Leary, St. Charles Police Department
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Medal of Valor
At about 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 21, 2024, Firefighter/Paramedic Drury was in his personal vehicle traveling to work at St. Charles Fire Department Station 6 for that duty day. Drury received a phone alert that the ambulance he would be working on that day had just been dispatched for a fire call. The fire was very close to his route. When he next saw in the dispatch notes that there were possibly two victims trapped, he rerouted to the fire. As he pulled up to the address, St. Charles Police Officer O’Leary was sprinting to the mobile home. Drury and O’Leary opened the unlocked front door to heavy smoke and near-zero visibility. The door would not fully open because of hoarder conditions. Drury crouched low, crawled about four feet into the room and yelled “Fire department, call out.” A man and woman responded that they were in a back bedroom. Drury stepped back and shared the information with Officer O’Leary, who was using his flashlight to attempt to illuminate a path for Drury. Drury attempted to get farther into the house in a prone position to minimize smoke and heat exposure. This time he got six feet in before encountering an overturned couch. From his position on the floor, he attempted to push the couch out of the way, but the hoarder conditions prevented it. He retreated to the door for air, where O’Leary, with the flashlight, was also struggling to breathe. Drury repeatedly crawled in and out as he moved debris and then went out for air as conditions deteriorated – increased heat, smoke, and there was now active fire in the front room. Finally, aided by O’Leary’s light, Drury was able to find a male victim lying on the floor. He pulled him by his feet toward the front door. O’Leary and other police officers got the victim onto the front porch. Medics tended to the victim and Drury went back inside and called out to the other victim. The victim called back but was disoriented. Drury had to crawl out to the porch for air. He then briefed arriving firefighters of the situation. Meanwhile Officer O’Leary had advanced inside the burning structure. He found the other victim and began pulling her out with another St. Charles Police officer. Drury assisted in getting her out of the residence. He then assisted with the woman’s care until additional ambulances arrived. Drury was later treated at a hospital and released. Both patients have made full recoveries. Without protective equipment or breathing apparatus, Drury and Officer O’Leary struggled against heat, smoke, near-zero visibility and hoarder conditions. Other than O’Leary’s flashlight they had nothing else to rely on beyond their relentless determination to save two lives.
John R. Henry, Cary F. Porter, Brett D. Tappendorf, Kristopher “Blake” Geren and Peter D. Hummel, Missouri State Highway Patrol
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Governor's Medal
On Jan. 24, 2024, a suspect allegedly attempted to abduct a woman in Quincy, Ill., and then fled Illinois law enforcement into Missouri. Hannibal Police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol picked up the pursuit. Patrol Field Training Officer Master Sergeant Henry and Trooper Geren began pursuing the suspect’s vehicle on U.S. Highway 36 in Shelby County, where it struck a tire deflation device deployed by Corporal Porter near Clarence, Mo. The vehicle exited at Missouri 151 and traveled down an embankment where it became disabled. As Henry and Geren approached, the suspect fired a round from a high-powered rifle, striking the driver side of the windshield. Geren, who was driving, was struck in the left shoulder by bullet fragments. Corporal Tappendorf and Trooper Hummel maneuvered their Patrol vehicles around Henry and Geren’s vehicle and tactically positioned them to provide cover from the gunman. The gunman then fired a second round from his high-powered rifle that struck Tappendorf’s vehicle. Tappendorf and Hummel exited their vehicles and returned fire with their Patrol rifles as the suspect continued firing. The gunman sustained multiple gunshot wounds and subsequently surrendered. Three rifles and a shotgun and additional ammunition were recovered inside the gunman’s vehicle. Trooper Geren was transported from the scene and has made a full recovery and returned to duty. He, Master Sergeant Henry, Corporal Tappendorf, Trooper Hummel and Corporal Porter each responded heroically to a highly dangerous situation in which a heavily armed violent criminal targeted officers using lethal force. The officers worked in tandem to communicate and protect one another, and in so doing removed a menacing criminal who threatened the community.
Drexel Mack, 16th Judicial Circuit of Missouri
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Red, White and Blue Heart Award
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.
Luke J. Buchanan and Steven D. Thompson, Independence Police Department
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Medal of Valor
On Feb. 29, 2024, Independence Police Department dispatch received a 911 call from a neighbor advising that a sheriff’s deputy had just been shot and was down in the doorway at 1111 North Elsea Smith Road in Independence. As officers responded to the scene, dispatch determined the victim was Drexel Mack, a court officer with Jackson County Circuit Court. The first officers on the scene were Officer Cody Allen, Officer Thompson and Officer Buchanan. The Independence officers quickly planned a rescue attempt. As the officers arrived at the doorway, Officers Thompson and Buchanan provided cover while Officer Allen attempted to drag Mr. Mack to safety. Shots were immediately fired from inside the residence, striking Officer Allen. Thompson and Buchanan returned fire as they sought cover. While awaiting additional assistance, Buchanan realized he had been shot in the stomach beneath his ballistic vest; Thompson realized he had been grazed in the arm. Within minutes, officers surrounded the residence, and a SWAT team made entry and engaged the gunman, with several shots being fired. A suspect was eventually taken into custody. Officer Allen and Court Officer Drexel Mack were transported to a hospital but succumbed to their wounds. Officers Thompson and Buchanan each recovered. Officers Allen, Thompson and Buchanan acted heroically that day. They willingly risked their own lives in an attempt to save the life of Mr. Mack. Officer Buchanan medically retired because of his injuries.
Cody Allen, Independence Police Department
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Red, White and Blue Heart Award
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.
Ben Grote and Jason Miller, Greene County Sheriff’s Office
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Medal of Valor
On June 17, 2024, members of the Greene County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Apprehension Unit responded to a house to arrest a man wanted for drug trafficking. Investigator Miller was assigned to the back of the residence as two deputies made contact with the suspect at the front door. Shortly after the suspect closed the front door, the back door opened, and Investigator Miller instructed a man and a woman to exit the residence. Sergeant Grote was arriving on the scene and assisted Miller. As the two deputies questioned the male and female witnesses about anyone else being in the residence and the presence of weapons, shots were fired in rapid succession from inside the residence. This was followed by several shots out of the front of the house and then several more rounds fired out the back. Sergeant Grote was struck by shattering glass. Miller and Grote instructed the two witnesses to take cover behind a truck. The woman cried hysterically and collapsed. Miller pulled the woman behind the truck for cover. Miller and Grote flanked the two witnesses to provide additional protection. Soon after, a gunman exited the residence and walked in the direction of Miller, Grote and the two witnesses, firing from a short-barrel AR-15 pistol. Miller and Grote returned fire, driving the gunman back. Miller was struck in the abdomen but was protected by his ballistic vest. He and Grote continued returning fire and drove the gunman back into the house. Miller and Grote then evacuated the two witnesses to a location where they were safe from the gunman. Miller was transported to a hospital for medical evaluation. Negotiators talked the gunman into surrendering and he was taken into custody. In a highly dangerous and dynamic situation, while repeatedly under fire from a heavily armed gunman, Sergeant Grote and Investigator Miller calmly and courageously responded, focused on protecting the witnesses regardless of the danger to themselves.
Arron Fredrickson, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Medal of Valor
At about 8 a.m. on July 8, 2024, Sheriff Fredrickson received a phone call from Shelby County Commissioner Terry Mefford that an SUV was traveling at about 5 m.p.h. on U.S. 36. The sheriff asked Mefford to follow the vehicle and immediately went to investigate. Upon arriving at a one-vehicle crash scene just east of Lentner, the sheriff found Mefford, and another good Samaritan had just failed to keep the vehicle from falling into a flooded ditch. The sheriff and the other good Samaritan, Kenton Parsons descended a steep embankment and found an overturned SUV in knee-deep water. The driver’s head was submerged in the water, and she was not breathing. Sheriff Fredrickson used a crowbar to break out two windows and he and Parsons pulled the 62-year-old woman from the vehicle. The sheriff began CPR, and the driver regained a pulse and began breathing again. She has made a full recovery. From the moment Sheriff Fredrickson received a call about a slow-moving vehicle, he displayed leadership and professionalism and acted with urgency. His actions helped save a life on July 8, 2024.
Matthew Tobben, Boone County Fire Protection District
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Red, White and Blue Heart Award
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.
David Lee III, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Red, White and Blue Heart Award
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.
Alan Crook and Luis Carlos Garza, nominated by Hazelwood Police Department
2024 Class
Awarded on: 09/23/2025
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On the evening of Sept. 28, 2024, as Hazelwood Police officers investigated an armed robbery that had just occurred, Officer Brandon Runyon located the suspect in the 7400 block of North Lindbergh Blvd. The suspect punched Runyon in the face and continued to attack the officer. The officer and suspect fell to the ground, where a backpack stolen by the suspect, opened. Cash and a handgun fell near the struggle. About 30 seconds into the struggle, motorists Alan Crook and Luis Garza recognized that Officer Runyon needed immediate assistance and stopped. Mr. Garza placed his body weight on the suspect’s legs. Mr. Crook drew his own pistol and pointed it at the attacker while the officer now struggled to handcuff the suspect. Additional Hazelwood Police officers soon arrived and were able to assist in handcuffing the suspect. With complete disregard for their own safety, Mr. Crook and Mr. Garza each made the decision to intervene in a highly dangerous situation and prevented Officer Runyon from further injury, or perhaps worse.