Medal Recipient Search
Brody J. von Brethorst, nominated by Cedar County Sheriff’s Office
2020 Class
Awarded on: 09/01/2021
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On Sept. 5, 2020, a 17-year-old boy jumped from a 40-foot bluff into Stockton Lake, landed face first and was knocked unconscious, and disappeared into the water. First responders were alerted but with the victim sinking in about 12 feet of water, time was of the essence. Brody von Brethorst, a student at Missouri Valley College, saw what had happened and immediately set out to attempt a rescue. Von Brethorst raced to the location where he thought the man hit the water. Von Brethorst dove to the bottom of the lake, attempting to find the victim, but was hampered by low visibility. He surfaced and called for a pair of goggles from the gathering crowd. After someone threw him a pair of goggles, von Brethorst dove in a second time. This time he found the victim and pulled him to the surface. With help from others, von Brethorst got the lifeless victim into a boat that had joined the search. The victim had no pulse, but after about five minutes of performing CPR on the boat, several nurses, who were enjoying Labor Day weekend at the lake, managed to revive the victim. Things remained very much touch and go. The victim was intubated on a helicopter flight to a hospital and put on a ventilator once he arrived at the hospital. Five days later, the victim was released from the hospital. In a highly stressful emergency situation, Brody von Brethorst had the ideal combination of inner calm, stamina, quick-thinking and determination to save the young victim’s life.
Mitchell D. Griffin, Dustin P. Hitchcock and Michael W. Mertz, St. John Police Department; Chad W. Hembree, Woodson Terrace Police Department; and Darion Meeks, Kinloch Fire Department
2020 Class
Awarded on: 09/01/2021
Governor's Medal
On the night of June 22, 2020, first responders were dispatched to an Applebee’s restaurant on St. Charles Rock Road in St. John for an active shooter incident with several victims. A customer had left his table, retrieved a gun from his vehicle, and reentered the restaurant, shooting randomly. At the scene, witnesses informed St. John Police officers Griffin, Hitchcock and Mertz that the gunman had fled and that there were three gunshot victims inside. Two victims were on one side of the restaurant; the third was on the other side. Officers Griffin and Mertz first went to the two victims who were together. One was already deceased. Officers Griffin and Mertz tended to the survivor, whose injuries were serious, but not life threatening. There was now a loud commotion on the other side of the restaurant. There, Officer Hitchcock and Captain Darion Meeks of the Kinloch Fire Department were providing life-saving care to a gunshot victim who was in desperate need of immediate attention. It was a fellow firefighter from the Kinloch department who had been shot while off-duty and dining at the restaurant with Meeks. Officer Mertz, as on-scene supervisor, oversaw securing the chaotic crime scene, preservation of evidence and identifying witnesses. Griffin went to the victim’s aid, assisting Captain Meeks and Officer Hitchcock. The victim had been shot in the head and was bleeding profusely as she lay on the floor between rows of tables. She also had injuries to both arms. Officer Hitchcock applied a tourniquet to the victim’s left arm and advised St. Louis County dispatch to expedite an ambulance to the scene. Hitchcock and Meeks then determined there was no time to wait for an ambulance because of the severity of the trauma – immediate transport to a hospital was required in a patrol vehicle. Woodson Terrace Police Officer Chad Hembree, Officer Griffin and Captain Meeks then carried the victim outside to Officer Griffin’s patrol vehicle. Griffin then rushed the victim to DePaul Hospital, with Captain Meeks continuing to provide medical care to the victim. In the middle of a chaotic shooting scene, through a combination of teamwork, quick-thinking and resourcefulness, the actions of Captain Meeks, and officers Hitchcock, Griffin, Hembree and Mertz played a crucial role in saving the life of an innocent victim. The alleged gunman was arrested early the next day. (Officer Mertz is now an officer with the Crestwood Police Department.)
Miles A. Spandle, nominated by Lee’s Summit Police Department
2020 Class
Awarded on: 09/01/2021
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On Aug. 9, 2020, Lee’s Summit Police and other emergency responders were dispatched to a vehicle on fire on eastbound Highway 50 in Lee’s Summit. When Lee’s Summit Police Sergeant Mike Murray arrived on scene, he found Miles Spandle, in medical scrubs, already on the scene treating a victim who was in serious condition. Spandle, a St. Luke’s Hospital emergency room trauma nurse, had been driving westbound on the divided highway. When he saw the burning vehicle, he immediately parked his car, grabbed his emergency trauma kit and crossed the grass median to the eastbound lanes. The injured driver was in the driver seat, confused and unable to walk. The fire was spreading around him. Spandle pulled the driver out of the vehicle and then 50 feet away from the fire. He bandaged the victim’s head and was stabilizing his neck when Sergeant Murray arrived. Spandle, Sergeant Murray and Officer David Arnold next picked up the driver and carried him farther away from the fire and placed him behind a police vehicle for additional protection from the intensifying fire. Spandle continued to provide care to the victim until EMS arrived. Sergeant Murray believes had Miles Spandle not stopped and pulled the driver from his burning vehicle and provided emergency care, the victim would have sustained more severe injuries or even died.
Lendon J. Blanchard, Evan G. Clements and Christopher A. Runion, nominated by Lamar Police Department
2020 Class
Awarded on: 09/01/2021
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On the evening of Aug. 1, 2020, a shooting occurred in a Carthage hotel. A gunman had killed one victim and shot another before stealing a car at knifepoint and fleeing the area. There was an extensive search. Just before 8 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 2, Lamar Police Officer John Simpson responded to a call for a suspicious person in the First Christian Church of Lamar. A man meeting the description of the killer was inside the church. Officer Simpson attempted to detain the man, giving the command to place his hands behind his back and turn around. Instead, the suspected murderer responded, “I’m not going back, I can’t go back.” He then reached inside the waistband of his pants and pulled out a knife. Officer Simpson tried to restrain the man, and they crashed into a bookshelf and then to the floor where they continued to struggle. Simpson sustained a cut to his hand. Church members Lendon Blanchard, Evan Clements and Christopher Runion all immediately went to the officer’s aid. All three assisted the officer as he struggled with the suspected killer, grabbing the assailant’s arms to prevent further injury to the officer. Despite the risks to themselves, Blanchard, Clements and Runion bravely and selflessly came to the aid of Officer Simpson and prevented further injury to the officer. With their assistance, Officer Simpson was able to take the murder suspect into custody.
Kurtis H. Brown, nominated by Missouri State Highway Patrol
2020 Class
Awarded on: 09/01/2021
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On May 27, 2020, an armored truck accidentally traveled off the right side of Route J in Camden County, overcorrected, crossed the centerline and slid off the left side of the road. It then crashed into a large tree, which caused the armored truck to catch fire. The tremendous impact with the tree also jammed the doors shut. The driver and passenger, unable to open the doors and surrounded by thick bulletproof glass were trapped within the vehicle, which was filling with smoke as the fire grew. Southwest Electric Cooperative staking technician Kurtis Brown was returning to his office in Preston when he noticed a truck stopped in the middle of the road and a distressed woman. She told him two men were trapped inside the burning truck off to the side of the road. As the woman spoke with a 911 operator, Brown went to the armored truck. The passenger, who was in better shape than the driver, said “help us out, we can’t get out.” Brown rushed to his work truck and retrieved a hammer and a fire extinguisher. When he returned and told the passenger he planned to break the glass, his heart sank when he was told it was bulletproof glass and the truck was armored. The hammer had no effect on the windows. Brown used the fire extinguisher but the fire still burned out of control. Brown next tried to use his hammer to beat back the areas where the truck body was jamming the passenger door. As he worked his way down the door, the two men inside kept pushing on the door, trying to unlatch it. Finally, as the flames engulfed more of the truck and the smoke grew worse, the men inside forced the door open. One of the rescued men said of the resourceful and unrelenting Kurtis Brown, “He saved two lives that day.”
Jayden Groves, nominated by St. Louis Fire Department
2020 Class
Awarded on: 09/01/2021
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On Aug. 8, 2020, a 22-month-old boy wandered away from a large family gathering in the Hyde Park area of St. Louis. His family began searching for him frantically. The toddler’s 11-year-old brother, Jayden Groves, knowing that his little brother liked to play in water, immediately headed toward a nearby pond. When he discovered his brother floating face down, he jumped into the pond and pulled out his brother. As a relative began providing CPR, Jayden raced to the nearby St. Louis Fire Department Engine House No. 8, which he had visited many times in the past. He pounded on the front door. Firefighter Dave Rodriguez ran with Jayden to the scene. The little boy was still unconscious and unresponsive. The firefighter began rescue breaths until Engine 8 arrived and assisted with ventilation. The child showed signs of improvement during transport to a hospital, which was assisted with an escort from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. The boy has made a full recovery, all because of the calm, mature and decisive actions taken by 11-year-old Jayden in a stressful emergency situation.
Keaton L. Ebersold, Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop H and Shannon Sherwood, Rock Port Police Department
2019 Class
Awarded on: 10/13/2020
Medal of Valor
On Jan. 23, 2019, Trooper Ebersold and Chief Sherwood responded to a call for a hostage situation on I-29 in Atchison County. A truck driver exited the vehicle with his hands up, saying a woman with a gun was in the sleeper cab with a child. Trooper Ebersold went to the passenger side; Chief Sherwood approached the driver side. Both doors were locked. A window punch was used to break the driver side window. The woman had her left arm around a small child and held a flare gun in her right hand, loaded and cocked, and pointed at the three-year-old’s head. The woman refused to negotiate and ordered Ebersold and Sherwood out of the vehicle. She pointed the flare gun at Ebersold as he attempted to speak with her, before pointing it back toward the child. As Chief Sherwood worked to calm and distract the woman, she slightly lowered the flare gun so it wasn’t aimed at the child. Trooper Ebersold immediately lunged inside the vehicle and wrapped his left hand around the hammer of the flare gun to lock it in place. Chief Sherwood and Trooper Ebersold struggled to control the woman while ensuring the safety of the child. Once Ebersold had the flare gun, he threw it out of the truck, and the woman was taken into custody. Trooper Ebersold and Chief Sherwood exhibited exceptional resourcefulness and tenacity to end the threat to the young child.
Thomas M. Buchness, Christian County Sheriff’s Office
2019 Class
Awarded on: 10/13/2020
Medal of Valor
On June 18, 2019, Deputy Sheriff Buchness responded to a call in the Sparta area for a young woman clinging to a large log in the Finley River with swift water conditions. She was suffering a panic attack and struggling to breathe. Deputy Buchness traveled through a wooded area and found the victim’s condition worsening. He threw her a long heavy duty extension cord and directed her to secure herself to the log. The woman was disoriented and was losing consciousness. She had been desperately holding on for some time and needed immediate attention. Deputy Buchness removed his duty gear, descended a steep embankment and carefully climbed out onto the log. Once he reached the victim, he reassured her she would be OK. As fire service personnel began to assemble at the riverbank, the victim was provided with a life jacket; the extension cord was used as a rescue rope for the victim and Deputy Buchness to safely get to the riverbank. The victim was treated by EMS. During an extremely tense situation, Deputy Buchness exhibited calm, decisive action and resourcefulness, which facilitated the rescue of a woman in imminent danger of drowning
Christopher S. Robertson, Calverton Park Police Department
2019 Class
Awarded on: 10/13/2020
Medal of Valor
On Dec. 17, 2019, Corporal Robertson responded to assist the Ferguson Police Department after a 10-year-old boy had fallen from a diving board into the closed public pool at January-Wabash Park. There was about seven feet of water in the pool and the air temperature was 32 degrees. Upon arrival, a Ferguson officer was already in the water. He had pulled the child up from under the water, but the officer was now struggling due to the icy water and the physical exertion of propping up the lifeless child. The officer was fatigued and now in danger himself. Corporal Robertson immediately jumped into the pool. He prioritized rescuing the rescue of the child. Once the youngster was out of the water, Corporal Robertson worked to rescue the Ferguson officer. He got him to the edge of the pool, where others responders pulled him to safety. The child, who had been in the water for an estimated 20 minutes, received CPR at the scene and was flown by helicopter to a children’s hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries the next day. Without regard for his own life, Corporal Robertson courageously jumped into the icy pool and successfully pulled out two people. The Ferguson officer survived.
Shawn M. Dougherty and Jason C. Kuessner, Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop D
2019 Class
Awarded on: 10/13/2020
Medal of Valor
On Aug. 16, 2019, members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Carter County Sheriff’s Office were met with a barrage of gunfire as they attempted to execute a writ of eviction in rural Carter County. Trooper Caleb McCoy was struck in the shoulder and Carter County Deputy Brigg Pierson was struck in the leg, groin and chest. While McCoy and another deputy were able to retreat, Pierson was very seriously wounded and fell down on the porch. Nearby, Corporal Kuessner encouraged and then pleaded for the injured Deputy Pierson to attempt to roll off the porch to a position out of the gunman’s line of fire. Deputy Pierson, summoning all his strength, rolled off the porch and crawled two steps from the residence but then collapsed. Corporal Kuessner then put himself in harm’s way by leaving his covered position to drag Pierson to behind a vehicle nearby. Master Sgt. Dougherty then ran from his position at a tree line to assist. With Deputy Pierson in medical distress and time of the essence, Dougherty, with his M-16 rifle, and Kuessner, with his service pistol drawn, then managed to drag Deputy Pierson to the tree line and an ambulance. After spending four weeks in the hospital, Deputy Pierson was able to return home, and he continues to recover through his own strength and perseverance, and because of the courage and valiant efforts of Master Sgt. Dougherty and Corporal Kuessner.