Missouri has awarded 28 first responders and three civilians who put their lives on the line to save others.

Eighteen Missouri Medals of Valor were awarded for exceptional courage and heroism to protect or save human life. Seven Governor’s Medals were given for heroic acts performed by a team of first responders. Three Red, White and Blue Heart Awards were given to first responders seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. Also, three Public Safety Civilian Partnership Awards were awarded to civilians who provided valuable or courageous help to first responders or the public.

The annual awards ceremony was held in Jefferson City on Thursday.

Gov. Mike Parson, who handed out the awards, knows firsthand what it’s like to serve in the line of duty.

“It’s always very difficult to lose a loved one,” he said. “There’s no question about that. The First Lady, we lost her brother as an EMT in the line of duty that he got killed in the line of duty, and I lost of an officer as sheriff in the line of duty. Definitely, for all of us, knows how tough the days those are.”

The Red, White and Blue Heart Award was given to the family of Herman Police Officers Detective Sgt. Mason Griffith and Officer Adam Sullentrup. Griffith was killed and Sullentrup was critically injured by a man who opened fire at a convenience store.

“Griffith, 34, also served as the Chief of the Rosebud Police Department and was known for being accessible to residents at all hours and had a history of deescalating many situations in which individuals were experiencing behavioral health crisis,” read Missouri’s Deputy Public Safety Director Kevin Bond.

Officer Sullentrup, who was shot in the head and suffered a traumatic head injury, spent several months in a California rehabilitation hospital before returning home last November. He undergoes continuing physical therapy and will remain on disability for the rest of his life.

Sgts. Wade McElfresh and Tom Thompson, and officers Robert Fincher, Dalton Koch, and James Mora with the O’Fallon Police Department have been awarded the Governor’s Medal for preventing a 13-year-old suicidal boy from jumping off the edge of an I-70 overpass. The tense situation unfolded on the afternoon of October 10, 2023, when the teen was experiencing a mental health crisis, and ran from his middle school.

“During a pressure-filled life-or-death incident over loud, swift-moving interstate traffic with a distraught boy’s life hanging in the balance, Sergeants McElfresh and Thompson and Officers Fincher, Koch and Mora demonstrated compassion, creative thinking, teamwork, and unflinching determination to save a life,” Bond said.

The Medal of Valor was awarded to an off-duty firefighter and paramedic from the Cape Girardeau Fire Department for rescuing a man from a burning house. Drew Goodale was dining at a New Hamburg restaurant when a civilian came in and reported that a nearby house was on fire. Without thinking, Goodale jumped into action, running into the blazing home without any protective gear. He did so several minutes before the local fire service arrived at the scene.

“Firefighter/Paramedic Goodale pulled the man out of the burning structure and onto the porch,” read Missouri Public Safety Director Sandy Karsten. “Goodale and the restaurant owner then moved the victim to the yard. The two provided medical aid until fire and EMS personnel arrived.”

Nominations are open for heroic acts performed during 2024 and must be received by February 28, 2025. The nominating forms are available here.

Click here for more information about the entire ceremony.

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