Medal Recipient Search
Shane Childress, nominated by Branson Police Department
2022 Class
Awarded on: 09/28/2023
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On August 13, 2022, a head-on collision occurred about 150 feet away from Shimi’s Food Truck/Café on Fall Creek Road, just outside of Branson. A Jeep was in a ditch and burning. The front end of the vehicle was severely crushed and a passenger was screaming in pain from the smoke-filled vehicle. Smoke was also coming from the sedan that was involved in the crash. The restaurant owner, Shane Childress, immediately went to the scene with three fire extinguishers from his business. The driver of the sedan, who was alone, managed to get out of his car but the scene was extremely dangerous and vehicle traffic continued on the road. Childress had restaurant staff use a chair on casters from his business to wheel the injured man to the safety of the restaurant, with the assistance of a Branson Police officer. Mr. Childress then went to the burning Jeep. He deployed the fire extinguishers, but the fire continued to grow. A woman and child were able to get out of the back on their own. The front and side airbags had deployed in the front of the vehicle. Mr. Childress used kitchen knives to cut the driver’s airbags and helped her out of the vehicle. Next, he tried to get the passenger out. He was a large man, screaming in pain and having trouble breathing because of the thick smoke. The passenger door was locked so Mr. Childress climbed into the vehicle from the back driver side door and unlocked the front passenger door. Mr. Childress, who is 5-foot-7, then tried to get the trapped passenger out, without success. The man’s head was on the dashboard in the crushed vehicle; his left leg had been severely injured. At that point, the Branson Police Department’s Sergeant Tanner Muckenthaler and Officer Brendan Gamble arrived on the scene and immediately went to work cutting the victim’s seatbelt and then quickly but carefully extricating the severely injured man from the crushed passenger compartment as the fire continued to burn. The Jeep was fully engulfed in flames within 45 seconds of the victim being extricated by the officers. Had it not been for the quick and resourceful actions of Mr. Childress and Muckenthaler and Gamble, the trapped man would have likely succumbed to the smoke and fire.
Terry A. Bible, Missouri State Highway Patrol and W. Shane Blankenship, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office
2022 Class
Awarded on: 09/28/2023
Medal of Valor
On the afternoon of September 10, 2022, Deputy Shane Blankenship was at the scene of a motorcycle crash on eastbound Interstate 44 in Lawrence County when he heard a vehicle stopping suddenly. As Deputy Blankenship looked to the west he could see flames from another crash a few hundred yards down the road. As Corporal Bible arrived at the first scene, Deputy Blankenship directed him and Sarcoxie Fire Department firefighters to the second scene. There, Corporal Bible found two crashed tractor-trailers; thick smoke was coming from one of them. A motorist ran to Corporal Bible and told him the truck was on fire and the driver trapped. Bible grabbed his fire extinguisher and sprinted to the cab of the truck. He found the driver trapped with his legs pinned in by the seat, with the exterior and the rear of the cab on fire. Corporal Bible directed others on the scene to bring their fire extinguishers to the truck since the fire department was not on the scene. Inside the cab, Corporal Bible attempted to force the seat away from the driver’s leg as the flames intensified. Understanding that every second mattered, once the fire department got to the scene, Corporal Bible exited the cab, instructed the crew to bring the Jaws of Life hydraulic rescue tool to the truck and then helped pull a firehose to the cab. Bible then covered the driver with an extra set of the fire department’s bunker gear to protect him from the growing flames. Deputy Blankenship arrived and the two applied pressure to the driver’s seat as the fire department used the Jaws of Life to try to free the driver. With tires blowing up and flames moving into the cab, the fire department began spraying water on all the people in the cab to protect them. Bible and Blankenship continued to try to calm and reassure the driver, who was conscious throughout the ordeal. Eventually, the driver was freed with the Jaws of Life and was transported to medical treatment. Under the most harrowing circumstances, Corporal Bible and Deputy Blankenship remained calm and resolute in their heroic determination to risk their own lives to save the driver.
Craig M. Cook, Fort Osage Fire Protection District
2022 Class
Awarded on: 09/28/2023
Red, White and Blue Heart Award
On the afternoon of October 21, 2022, Fort Osage Fire Protection District Station 1 was dispatched to a natural cover fire, in which about an acre of corn stubble was burning. Strong winds caused the fire to quickly advance. Additional fire engines and brush trucks were dispatched to fight the growing fire. Captain Cook and another firefighter were in a brush truck assigned to the eastern flank of the fire when they were overcome by heavy smoke and lost their orientation as the fire advanced. They decided to drive out of the smoke toward daylight. They drove into the leading edge of the advancing fire when the truck’s engine died. Attempts to restart the engine failed. Captain Cook and his fellow firefighter decided to attempt to escape by running on foot. During the escape attempt through knee-high corn stubble, Captain Cook tripped and fell, fracturing a foot. The leading edge of the fire overran Captain Cook, causing serious burns. A Mayday was called. A civilian was able to reach Captain Cook and evacuated him and his fellow firefighter to safety. Captain Cook was transported to a burn center with severe injuries, including third degree burns. About 30% of his body was burned, including his face and head. Captain Cook spent over four months in a hospital and rehabilitation facility, undergoing several surgeries and having several fingers amputated. He will have to undergo additional surgeries. Captain Cook has paid a very high price for his selfless dedication to public service and protecting his community.
Joseph Sapp, nominated by Branson Police Department
2022 Class
Awarded on: 09/28/2023
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On December 12, 2022, Branson Police Department Sergeant Abe Jones responded to a call about a possible fight in progress in the parking lot of a Branson apartment complex. As Sergeant Jones attempted to arrest a suspect, the man violently assaulted him. Sergeant Jones was down on one knee as the man repeatedly punched him in the head. Joseph Sapp, who was 19-years-old at the time and lived in the apartment building, saw what was taking place and immediately responded. He shoved the assailant away from Sergeant Jones and then repeatedly struck the attacker. Mr. Sapp’s actions allowed Sergeant Jones to get back up on his feet and deploy his Taser to quell the assailant. Without regard for his own safety, Mr. Sapp, who joined the U.S. Army in January 2023 and is now stationed in Texas, took immediate action to help a law enforcement officer in need of assistance, preventing further injury to the officer, protecting the public, and assisting in the assailant being taken into police custody.
Jeffrey D. Collins and John G. Lehman, Jefferson City Police Department
2021 Class
Awarded on: 09/07/2022
Medal of Valor
On January 3, 2021, Officers Collins (now retired) and Lehman responded to a report of a man armed with a large knife threatening customers at a shopping center. After Officer Collins arrived at the scene, followed by Officer Lehman, the two officers initiated contact with the suspect, a 59-year-old man who was extremely agitated. Officer Collins attempted to calm the man, telling him the officers were there to help him. The man was slapping his thigh with the large knife and refused to drop it. Officer Collins worked to engage the man in conversation as he drew his duty handgun and as Officer Lehman moved into a tactical position where he could observe the knife in the man’s right hand. Both officers continued their calls for him to drop the knife. He refused and his agitation grew. He then suddenly raised the knife above his head with the blade pointed at Officer Collins and rushed toward Collins. Fearing for his life, Collins discharged his duty weapon. Fearing for the safety of Officer Collins, Officer Lehman also discharged his duty weapon. The officers secured the knife, which was still in the subject’s hand, and initiated lifesaving measures but the subject died. Officers Collins and Lehman responded to a volatile situation in which a number of people were endangered. They attempted to end the situation nonviolently but were forced to act when Officer Collins' life was at risk.
Justin M. Flynn, nominated by Eureka Police Department
2021 Class
Awarded on: 09/07/2022
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
At about 3 a.m. on January 26, 2021, Mr. Flynn awoke to a series of loud explosions. He checked outside and saw a house about one-half mile from his was on fire and quickly drove to his neighbors’ residence, arriving before firefighters. Two of the residents had made it out of the house but an elderly disabled woman was trapped inside. Because the front of the house was engulfed in flames, Mr. Flynn breached the rear door and made two attempts to reach the trapped victim, using the flashlight on his phone as he shouted out to the woman. But there was no response and the smoke made it impossible to see or breathe for any length of time inside the house. While exiting the second time, Mr. Flynn saw Eureka Police Officer Timothy L. Shipp, who had just arrived on scene. Mr. Flynn advised him that the remaining occupant was disabled and that he had not been able to find her. Officer Shipp and Mr. Flynn now entered the house together through the back door, the smoke choking them and making it impossible to see. Crawling on their hands and knees, Officer Shipp shouted for the woman, and this time she responded. Shipp told her to keep calling out so he could find her through the smoke. Crawling through the noxious smoke, Officer Shipp reached the woman on the floor of a room Mr. Flynn had not been able to reach previously. Officer Shipp dragged the woman toward the back door. Working together, Officer Shipp and Mr. Flynn got the woman out of the house to safety. Throughout the difficult ordeal, Mr. Flynn performed bravely, without concern for his own safety, and helped save a woman’s life.
Timothy L. Shipp, Eureka Police Department
2021 Class
Awarded on: 09/07/2022
Medal of Valor
At about 3:15 a.m. on January 26, 2021, while working secondary employment, Officer Shipp heard radio traffic about a house fire. He immediately drove to the location, arriving before the Eureka Fire Department. The front of the house was fully engulfed in flames. He found a neighbor at the back of the house, Justin M. Flynn, who told him a disabled woman was still inside. Mr. Flynn had made two attempts to locate the woman but had been thwarted by the smoke and darkness. Officer Shipp and Mr. Flynn entered the house using the rear entrance. Without breathing apparatus, the dense smoke made it impossible to see and very difficult to breathe. With Officer Shipp in the lead, the men crawled along the floor, with Officer Shipp calling out to the woman. Finally, the woman responded and Officer Shipp followed her voice to find her on the floor of a distant room. Officer Shipp then began dragging the victim along the floor; Mr. Flynn then assisted, and they were able to move her to safety outside. Officer Shipp acted without regard for his own safety in order to save the woman trapped inside her burning home. Timothy L. Shipp has been promoted to corporal.
Zim Schwartze, Missouri Capitol Police
2021 Class
Awarded on: 09/07/2022
Medal of Valor
On February 10, 2021, while off duty, Missouri Capitol Police Chief Schwartze traveled to Fayette, Missouri, for an appointment. While driving home, she came upon a house fire on Route W in Howard County. Chief Schwartze pulled into the driveway, where a man in his 60s had already stopped. He said he heard dogs barking inside the house and was going to call 911. Chief Schwartze ran to the back of the house, observing the attached garage was also on fire. She ran into the burning house and encountered many dogs. She called out to see if anyone was in the house. There was no response. Smoke was rolling across the first floor ceiling as she went room-to-room, calling out to anyone in the house. In the kitchen a man appeared; he said he had been sleeping in the basement and heard Schwartze’s calls. The chief guided the man outside and placed five dogs in a vehicle so they would be out of the way when firefighters arrived. As she returned to the front of the residence, she saw that the man she had originally encountered outside had collapsed and was face down in the driveway. He was not breathing. She immediately called 911 and began chest compressions. Howard County sheriff’s deputies and firefighters began arriving. They took over the effort to revive the man, who had suffered a heart attack. Chief Schwartze now observed debris from the house falling on vehicles, one of which was on fire. She moved the dogs from one of these vehicles into her personal car. Unfortunately, the man who suffered the heart attack did not survive. While off duty and far from her Missouri Capitol Police jurisdiction, Chief Schwartze immediately sprang into action when she observed a fire, acting heroically to protect people, pets and property.
William J. Knittel Jr. and Michael E. Werges, Eureka Police Department
2021 Class
Awarded on: 09/07/2022
Medal of Valor
On February 18, 2021, Sgt. Knittel and Lt. Werges were dispatched to a residence after a caller reported a man flourishing a handgun at a woman inside the residence. Upon arrival, Sgt. Knittel made contact with a woman at the front door. She told him the man was holding the handgun to his head and there were children inside. As Lt. Werges arrived, a gunshot was then heard inside the house. The two officers immediately entered the home to search for the children. Lt. Werges made verbal contact with the armed man, who was in another room, as Sgt. Knittel searched for, located, and carried the children out of the home. A second shot was now heard from the room the gunman was occupying, and the woman ran out of the room. The gunman then barricaded himself in the room. After several hours of negotiations, the gunman surrendered. Without regard for their own wellbeing, Lt. Werges and Sgt. Knittel rushed into a residence occupied by a violent gunman, rescued two children, and helped secure the safe release of a woman.
Jeffrey A. Hilke, Cole County Sheriff’s Office
2021 Class
Awarded on: 09/07/2022
Medal of Valor
On April 21, 2021, Reserve Deputy Sheriff Hilke was working in his civilian position as a funeral director at an Eldon mortuary, where a family was preparing for a memorial service. The ex-husband of one of the immediate family members entered the mortuary and confronted his ex-wife. After arguing, the man attempted to pull the woman into another room. When she resisted, he pulled a handgun from his coat. Deputy Hilke heard the woman scream, and he and another man rushed the gunman to attempt to take control of the gun. As they fought the gunman, the gun’s magazine was ejected, but as the struggle continued the bullet in the chamber discharged and narrowly missed striking one of the people in the mortuary. Deputy Hilke continued to fight the gunman who was now attempting to pull a second magazine from a coat pocket. Once Eldon Police arrived on the scene, they assisted by taking control of the gunman and securing his weapon. While working his civilian job, Reserve Deputy Hilke leapt into action, sacrificing his own safety to prevent what could have been a deadly domestic violence attack.