DPS Team Members of the Month
June Sworn Team Members of the Month
Gregory D. Primm and Joshua H. Thompson
Sergeant Trooper
Missouri State Highway Patrol
June Non-Sworn Team Member of the Month
Chelsey Call
DPS Grants Supervisor
Office of the Director
Sergeant Gregory D. Primm and Trooper Joshua H. Thompson, of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, are the June 2023 DPS Sworn Team Members of the Month for their actions to rescue three human trafficking victims in Missouri and for bringing about the release of 17 others in Texas.
On Dec. 21, 2022, Greg, who is assigned the Division of Drug and Crime Control, received word through the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department that FBI agents in Texas were requesting assistance locating a suspect in a human trafficking case. The suspect’s vehicle was believed to be in the Kansas City area en route to Minnesota.
Greg coordinated the Patrol’s search for the vehicle, which was located at a gas station off interstate 35 in Clinton County. Joshua established probable cause to stop the vehicle when he observed a traffic violation on I-35 in Daviess County. Joshua, of Troop H, identified the driver of the vehicle, who was arrested for failure to possess a valid driver license.
During questioning at the Daviess-DeKalb Regional Jail, the driver admitted to being involved in a human trafficking conspiracy. During subsequent interviews, it was discovered that the three passengers in the vehicle were being smuggled to Minnesota and that 17 others were being held in Texas, some of whom were locked in closets serving as makeshift jail cells.
Greg and Joshua’s teamwork, coordination with the FBI and the thoroughness of their interviews with the suspect immediately stopped the exploitation of 20 people and prevented additional crimes from occurring. The charges are mere accusations and not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the charges must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
Chelsey Call, a Grants Supervisor in the DPS Office of the Director, is the June 2023 DPS Non-Sworn Team Member of the Month for her extraordinarily thorough and skillful work supervising an increasing number of public safety grants.
The DPS Grants Section administers over 40 grants that send more than $200 million in funding to public safety partners for everything from cybersecurity and terrorism preparedness to assistance to economically distressed zones. Chelsey and the grants team develop and administer these efforts with care and precision.
In 2022, DPS was tasked with administering new American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant funding for law enforcement, the fire service, EMS agencies and county jail maintenance and improvements. Working on a very tight timeline, Chelsey developed and oversaw these initiatives that awarded over $16 million in assistance through more than 450 grants across Missouri.
Chelsey worked quickly and efficiently, developing grant application and compliance workshops and spending many hours working one-on-one with applicants to explain grant requirements and restrictions. The result was millions of dollars in additional funding so that Missouri first responder partners could advance public safety in the state.
As is often the case, Chelsey’s hard work and professionalism were instrumental in DPS delivering vital assistance for our public safety partners.
The Missouri Department of Public Safety. Many Missions. One Team.