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.
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 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.
Wesley D. Hilton, nominated by Clinton Police Department
2018 Class
Awarded on: 10/07/2019
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On the night of March 6, 2018, Wesley D. Hilton was participating in a citizen ride-along with Clinton Police Officer Nathan Bettencourt. Officer Bettencourt and other officers were dispatched to an unknown disturbance at a residence based on a 911 call. All that could be heard on the call was women yelling at one another, and then line went dead. Upon arriving at the residence, a woman in the front yard said there had been no disturbance, no 911 call, and that no one was inside. Officers initiated a protective safety sweep to confirm no one was injured or in distress. Once inside the residence, officers were ambushed by a man hiding in a bathroom with multiple firearms, including a rifle. Officer Bettencourt and two other Clinton Police officers were struck by gunfire. Bettencourt and another officer returned fire and retreated from the residence. Only later would they learn that Officer Christopher Ryan Morton could not get out of the residence and had been mortally wounded. Officer Bettencourt had been shot twice in the right arm. His wounds were so severe he could not hold his pistol. Officer Bettencourt headed to his patrol car, where Mr. Hilton, without regard for his own safety, left the cover of the vehicle and approached Bettencourt. Hilton applied a tourniquet to Bettencourt’s upper arm, which was bleeding profusely. Officer Bettencourt borrowed a weapon from another officer and joined other officers who engaged the gunman in a firefight as they attempted to reenter the residence to extract Officer Morton, who was no longer responding on his radio. Pinned down by heavy gunfire, the officers were ordered to hold ground until a fully equipped officer rescue team arrived. Mr. Hilton rode with Officer Bettencourt when he was transported by EMS to a local hospital, assisting in removing his body armor so his wounds could be treated. Mr. Hilton stayed with Officer Bettencourt at the hospital and contacted his wife by phone to explain what had occurred. He remained with Officer Bettencourt until he was transferred to a trauma center in Kansas City and continued to visit and support Officer Bettencourt throughout his months-long recovery. After the shooting, it was learned that the 911 system software had misidentified the location of the original call. It has originated 15 miles away from the residence to which the officers had been sent. Of Mr. Hilton’s actions, Officer Bettencourt said, “Wes displayed the calm and bravery of a seasoned combat veteran in the heat of a gunfight and showed thoughtful care for me.” On a tragic night of terrible violence and the loss of Officer Morton, Mr. Hilton’s fast and courageous action helped save the life of Officer Bettencourt.
Catherine J. Stepps, nominated by St. Louis Fire Department
2018 Class
Awarded on: 10/07/2019
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On March 30, 2018, the St. Louis Fire Department responded to a report of a residential structure fire. Smoke was coming from a one-story brick building, which firefighters quickly entered. They conducted a primary search and extinguished a very smoky cooking fire. They found the elderly resident safe outside the home. As firefighters investigated, they discovered that a neighbor, Catherine Stepps, had smelled smoke from inside her neighboring home. She ran toward the residence, jumped a fence, and entered the home. The fire was coming from the kitchen in the rear of the smoky home, so Ms. Stepps covered her face with her shirt to fight the thick smoke. With no firefighting training or protective equipment and without consideration of her own safety, she searched the house and found her elderly neighbor asleep on a couch. Ms. Stepps awakened him and led him out of the house through the smoke. He would tell his rescuer, “Thank you, baby. You’re a life saver.” The responding St. Louis firefighters are convinced that without Ms. Stepps’ fast, heroic response, the man would have been seriously injured or killed.
Tyler Preston, Gabriel Gowen, and Jordan Lambay, nominated by Kirksville Police Department
2018 Class
Awarded on: 10/07/2019
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On the night of June 29, 2018, Kirksville Police officers were dispatched to a domestic assault involving an axe. When officers arrived, they found a woman face down in the street surrounded by blood. She had life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to a hospital for treatment. The officers noticed a civilian holding down another man who was covered in blood. Jordan Lambay, a Truman State University student, was restraining the man who had been wielding the axe. Lambay and fellow Truman State students Gabriel Gowen and Tyler Preston had all helped end the attack and get the victim medical attention. The three students had been in Gowen’s apartment when they heard yelling and screams outside. They saw a man brandishing an axe and the victim trying to defend herself. There were also children screaming for help. While Preston called 911, Gowen and Lambay left the apartment to help the victim. Lambay quickly grabbed the axe and tripped the attacker. Gowen joined the struggle, pulled the axe away, and got it out of the immediate area. Lambay then held the attacker on the ground until police arrived. Kirksville Police believe had Preston, Gowen, and Lambay not responded, the attack would have continued and the victim would have died from her injuries.
Marlin V. Matchett, nominated by Taney County Ambulance District
2018 Class
Awarded on: 10/07/2019
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On July 19, 2018, Mr. Matchett was on the Showboat Branson Belle working as part of the first aid team when a severe storm with high winds and heavy waves sank a tourist duck boat near the showboat. Mr. Matchett, a trained paramedic with decades of EMS experience, quickly called for additional help. He then began rescuing victims by pulling them from the water onto the showboat. Using his extensive EMS experience, he helped triage the injured and also coordinated and directed other civilians who were working to assist the terrified victims. When a young victim was in cardiac arrest, Mr. Matchett performed CPR until ambulance personnel arrived and took over the desperate and ultimately unsuccessful effort. During a catastrophic event, Mr. Matchett heroically worked to help save multiple lives.
Charles Barney and Sandra Straw, nominated by Missouri State Highway Patrol
2017 Class
Awarded on: 11/13/2018
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On Feb. 7, 2017, during a traffic stop on Interstate 70 in Lafayette County, Trooper Beau Ryun, of Troop A, observed the driver he had stopped reach into his waistline as he approached Trooper Ryun’s patrol car as instructed. Trooper Ryun had the driver place his hands on the patrol car and frisked him, finding a pair of scissors in the driver’s waistline. The driver refused to follow Trooper Ryun’s instructions and began to fight with him. Trooper Ryun’s handcuffs fell to the ground and were out of reach as he struggled with the driver on the ground. He was unable to radio to inform headquarters of his situation. It was then that two motorists stopped along the interstate and approached. Sandra Straw was already on her cell phone with 911, requesting additional officers, as she approached. Ms. Straw lay on Timmons legs in an attempt to control him and wound up being kicked in the face. The second motorist, Charles Barney, was now on the scene and Trooper Ryun asked him to retrieve his handcuffs. Trooper Ryun also instructed Mr. Barney on how to use his radio to advise Troop A of the situation. Mr. Barney then helped with the effort to restrain the driver. This assistance allowed Trooper Ryun to reach and use his pepper spray on the driver. With the assistance of Ms. Straw and Mr. Barney, Trooper Ryun was able to handcuff the driver. Ms. Straw and Mr. Barney both could have kept driving on Interstate 70. Instead, they both chose to put themselves into a dangerous situation and came to the aid of a trooper, who was able to make an arrest with their assistance.
Raymond Rayford, nominated by the St. Louis Fire Department
2017 Class
Awarded on: 11/13/2018
Public Safety Civilian Partnership Award
On April 22, 2017, a call went out for a structure fire with a person trapped in St. Louis’s Botanical Heights neighborhood. St. Louis Fire Department Captain Whitener, who was off duty, immediately responded. He found thick gray smoke pouring out of the two-story residential building. Residents outside the building told him a wheelchair-bound tenant was trapped on the second floor. Captain Whitener charged into the building and up the stairs without any protective equipment. He was followed by a tenant from another unit in the building, Raymond Rayford. The smoke was filling the hallway. Smoke billowed into the room where they found the woman in her wheelchair. She futilely covered her face to try to block out the smoke. Captain Whitener knew time was short because the smoke was building pressure in the room. They pushed the wheelchair to the apartment doorway but furniture blocked the exit. Mr. Rayford threw the furniture out of the apartment to clear a path. Whitener and Rayford then hoisted the wheelchair over the stair railing and down the stair, careful to protect the woman. Once outside, they heard glass shattering. The fire had grown tremendously and was now venting itself out of the room from which they had just rescued the woman. Mr. Rayford’s actions were selfless and his assistance to Captain Whitener critical in the heroic effort to save the life of a trapped wheelchair bound woman. Though an untrained civilian, Mr. Rayford not only displayed concern for human life and a willingness to help a neighbor, but fearlessness and skill during a rescue in which he put his own life at risk.