Medal Recipient Search
John K. Gresco II, St. Charles County Police Department
2020 Class
Awarded on: 09/01/2021
Medal of Valor
On Aug. 9, 2020, St. Charles County was inundated with four inches of rain in two hours. At about 1 a.m. Officer Gresco was dispatched to a report of a vehicle stuck in flood water on Pitman Road. Upon arrival, Officer Gresco found a different vehicle stuck in rapidly rising flood water. The driver was climbing out of his window to get onto the vehicle’s roof. Officer Gresco had grown up in the area and knew immediate action was required because, when it floods, the creek nearby routinely rises to 7 to 10 feet, with an unforgiving current. As the water rose above the level of the trunk, Officer Gresco quickly moved through the water to the vehicle, which was now being carried toward the rising creek, with the driver on the roof. Gresco knew if the vehicle reached the swift water of the creek, the driver’s chances of survival would be slim. Officer Gresco was clinging to a submerged guardrail, to avoid being swept away. With the vehicle floating in his direction and with the driver on the roof desperately calling for assistance, Gresco risked his own life and moved toward the vehicle. When the vehicle ran into some brush, Gresco convinced the victim to jump to him. Gresco grabbed the victim and then helped him maneuver through the flood water to safety. In the dark, in rising, swirling flood water and with no time to wait for rescue teams and equipment, Officer Gresco calmly and courageously risked his own life to take immediate action, saving a flooding victim about to be swept away.
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.
Ryan W. Broeker, Devin R. Kitrel and Andrew C. Mattaline, Chesterfield Police Department
2020 Class
Awarded on: 09/01/2021
Medal of Valor
Early on the morning of Sept. 23, 2020, Chesterfield Police Officers Broeker, Kitrel and Mattaline were working the midnight shift to investigate a rash of auto break-ins as part of a plainclothes, undercover assignment. At about 2:45 a.m., they responded to a call for a vehicle that had struck a tree at a high rate of speed. The vehicle was extremely damaged, with the front end crushed in. As the officers approached the vehicle, they noticed the glow of fire beneath the car. They attempted to enter the vehicle, but the heavy damage prevented entry. The driver had been killed on impact. Additional officers arrived on the scene and they were able to get the car open and see an injured passenger, who was conscious but trapped – severely entangled in the wiring of the engine compartment of the mangled vehicle. Fire quickly fully engulfed the engine and passenger compartments. With no fire crews on scene, immediate action was required to save the victim’s life. Officers Broeker, Kitrel and Mattaline ignored the danger to themselves and amidst the fire, smoke and heat, worked together to cut the victim out of the wiring and debris. Officer Broeker used a fire extinguisher as the fire encroached farther, then assisted Officers Kitrel and Mattaline in pulling the victim from the burning wreckage. Moments after the victim had been freed, there was an explosion inside the car. The officers moved the victim farther away from the vehicle until medical help could arrive. Uniformed officers had spotted the vehicle numerous times traveling recklessly and at extreme speeds in the area. Despite the danger to themselves, and overcoming smoke, heat and fire, officers Broeker, Kitrel and Mattaline’s brave and decisive action likely saved the victim’s life. (Officer Kitrel is now an officer with the St. Peters Police Department.)
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.
Jason C. Gamm, Rick L. Shannon and Wesley W. Teague, nominated by the Trenton Police Department
2019 Class
Awarded on: 10/13/2020
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On June 14, 2019, Trenton Police Department Officer Jasmine E. Diab was transporting a prisoner to a mental health evaluation. During transport, near Winston, Mo., the prisoner assaulted Officer Diab, and in a struggle the officer was shot in the abdomen and the prisoner was shot in the hand. The prisoner tried to take control of the vehicle and, positioned on top of the officer, attempted to drive away from the scene. Officer Diab continued to fight the prisoner. Several passing civilian motorists realized the officer was in extreme danger. Jason Gamm and Rick Shannon heard one of the gunshots. Shannon retrieved a gun from his vehicle and gave it to Gamm. Gamm and Wesley Teague approached the rear of the police vehicle. Gamm carefully moved around the vehicle to the driver’s door and managed to pull the prisoner from the vehicle. The prisoner continued to fight. At this point, Teague grabbed the prisoner’s legs with his arms. Shannon assisted holding him on the ground. All three civilians held the prisoner until law enforcement arrived and took him into custody. Officer Diab was hospitalized and continues to recover. There is no doubt that if not for the heroic actions of Gamm, Shannon and Teague, who acted without concern for their own safety, Officer Diab might have been killed.
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
Thomas E. Hutsler II, nominated by the Platte County Sheriff’s
2019 Class
Awarded on: 10/13/2020
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On July 9, 2019, Thomas Hutsler was at a motor vehicle licensing office in Kansas City, in Platte County, when there was a commotion at the counter. A woman in a loud threatening voice told a clerk, “What do I need to do, show you my gun?” As she stormed out of the office past Hutsler, he overheard her say, “You haven’t seen the last of me.” Recognizing the danger, Hutsler instructed his son to remain inside as he headed to the parking lot. Hutsler then observed the woman pull a handgun out of her handbag. She fired the gun in the parking lot and then headed for the license office. Hutsler blocked the office door and told her she was not reentering the building. During a verbal confrontation, the woman brandished her weapon before placing it back in her bag and heading toward her vehicle. Hutsler warned other people in the parking lot to beware of the armed woman. The license office went on lockdown. Hutsler started his truck and maneuvered it to block the woman’s car. At this point, an off-duty officer drew his gun and, when the woman exited her vehicle, he ordered her to get on the ground. Hutsler used the officer’s phone to relay the events to a dispatcher. The woman refused the officer’s commands; Hutsler got behind her, wrapped his arms around her and took her to the ground. Kansas City Police soon arrived. Police say the woman’s gun was loaded with a bullet in the chamber. In a highly dangerous situation in a public area with many lives in the balance, Thomas Hutsler acted with fearlessness and daring to protect his fellow citizens from harm.
James W. Whitley II and Robert J. Whitley, nominated by Missouri State Highway Patrol
2019 Class
Awarded on: 10/13/2020
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On the evening of Aug. 3, 2019, a pontoon boat was floating down the Mississippi River near Hannibal with seven people aboard. A tow rope had become wrapped around the boat’s propeller, causing the motor to fail. The boat floated in front of four raked barges moored on the Illinois side of the river. Cousins James and Robert Whitley were upstream in a 20-foot jon boat with a 75-horsepower engine when they noticed the pontoon was in distress and immediately set out to help. When they were about 100 yards away, the pontoon hit a barge and capsized. Some of the occupants were in the water, others were clinging to the barge as best they could. The Whitleys entered the very dangerous area in front of the barges. They threw a life jacket to a man in the water and next recued a two-year-old child. Carefully maneuvering their small boat in and out of the danger zone, they rescued three more people who were clinging to the barge. As they fought the current, the jon boat twice almost capsized. They pulled a lifeless body from the water and administered CPR, to no avail. By now, the person they had thrown a life jacket to had been rescued downstream by a tow boat. The body of a second deceased victim was recovered the next day. On the dangerous Mississippi River, fighting the current, swirling water and debris in a small, lightweight boat, James and Robert Whitley, acted quickly, selflessly and with undaunted courage, placing themselves in harm’s way and saving the lives of five people.
Duane K. Greer, Christopher R. Erb Jr., Patrick A. Ferguson, James J. Fuchs and Joshua A. Roth, St. Louis Fire Department
2019 Class
Awarded on: 10/13/2020
Governor's Medal
On Aug. 15, 2019, the St. Louis Fire Department was dispatched to a second floor apartment in Lafayette Square with smoke showing. Upon arrival, neighbors gave no indication anyone was inside the apartment. Captain Erb, Firefighter Ferguson, Firefighter Fuchs and Firefighter Roth all pushed up the stairs through the heat and smoke to conduct the primary search. First, Firefighter Ferguson located a child behind a bedroom door. Captain Erb then radioed that he had found another young victim. Multiple medic units were requested. Eventually, the team located a total of four children under four years old in the smoke-filled rear bedroom, one was in a closet, two were in a children’s play tent. All of the children were rushed from the building; three were in cardiac arrest; one was semi-conscious. CPR was performed on three of the children in the front yard of the apartment building. Because of the narrow streets and the number of fire trucks on the scene, the medic units were at a distance from the scene. With extreme professionalism, under the command of Battalion Chief Duane K. Greer and in accordance with their training, the firefighters performing CPR acted with dispatch to carry the children to the medic units. The children, including 18-month-old twin, were treated at a hospital and within two hours all were breathing on their own and considered stable. The St. Louis Fire Department team performed flawlessly as they saved four young lives, from executing a thorough primary search and locating each young child in a smoke-filled apartment to providing critical life-saving care on the scene.
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.