COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Six members of Missouri State Highway Patrol's Troop E were among the 21 recently honored at the patrol's annual awards banquet in Columbia.
"We had some of our folks do some extraordinary things back in 2016 ...," said Capt. Jeff Vitale, Troop E commander. " ... I'm very proud that Troop E kind of prevailed, and we got some of our folks recognized."
Trooper Logan Monahan and Cpl. Shayne Talburt were among 10 to receive a special "lifesaving award;" however, they were unable to attend the ceremony due to historic flooding in late April.
The marine operations troopers were recognized for a June 4, 2016, incident in Ripley County in which they saved a man from his flooded vehicle.
On that day, Monahan and Talburt reportedly overheard radio traffic regarding a crash in which a vehicle was partially submerged in flooded Cypress Creek.
The troopers, who had swift-water gear in their vehicles and knowledge of water rescues, arrived to find an 82-year-old driver still trapped in his vehicle, according to patrol officials.
The troopers reportedly entered the cold water with their safety equipment.
Two bystanders, who already had entered the water, were keeping the driver's head above the water line.
Talburt took over for the bystander holding the driver's head, while Monahan, with the help of the other bystander, removed the driver.
"The troopers then continued to monitor the driver, who had suffered serious injuries and (was in) shock," the patrol officials said. "(Then) Trooper Talburt maintained C-spine management until the driver was transferred to emergency medical personnel waiting on the bank."
The driver, who was described as being combative through the rescue, was found to have suffered a broken neck in the crash. He has since recovered.
Monahan said he was proud and honored to receive the award.
"It's always an honor to get an award like that," said Monahan.
Talburt called the award a great honor.
"I think there are a lot more deserving officers than me," Talburt said.
The actions taken, Monahan said, were what "every other trooper would do ... I know a lot of troopers who do the same thing."
Monahan said he and Talburt happened to be "close enough to respond and help out. ... We were able to get him out of the water."
Monahan also credits the bystanders for their help.
"We were several minutes out; they kept the victim alive until we got there," Monahan said. "If not for their help, we definitely would not have been able to do what we" did, which was put their training "to use."
Talburt agreed.
"We do a lot of training with the highway patrol, and it's just good to put it to use," Talburt said.
Since Monahan and Talburt were unable to attend the ceremony, patrol Col. Sandra Karsten "reached out" to Vitale wanting to do "something special" for the troopers.
During a dinner at troop headquarters on Friday, June 2, Vitale said, Karsten presented Monahan and Talburt with their awards.
"It's important to me, as commander, to recognize our folks who do good work," Vitale said.
Also in attendance for the dinner, Vitale said, were the majority of the other award recipients.
"We've never had, since I've been here (11 years), someone selected as state recipient of the civilian or officer of the year," said Vitale, who indicated each troop is asked to nominate someone for those awards, as well as the MASTERS public service award.
This year's Civilian of the Year award went to C. Michele Parrot, a clerk typist III.
Patrol officials say Parrott was honored for her "initiative, dedication and exceptional work ethic."
When Troop E's clerical staff was short two full-time employees, Parrott assumed a leadership role, prioritizing and dividing work assignments in a way that ensured minimal interruption of clerical duties.
At the same time, Parrott continued to fulfill her duties related to the processing of Division of Drug and Crime Control investigators' reports. She worked late and came in on Saturdays so clerical assignments remained current.
In addition, Parrott reportedly cross trained herself in each aspect of the other clerical positions and did an "excellent job" in training two employees.
When the patrol's record division implemented new policies, Parrott reportedly made sure they were implemented by their mandated deadlines.
"When the employee who handles the citation audit was out of the office unexpectedly, she made sure Troop E met the required deadlines," patrol officials said. "The results of this audit exceeded expectations."
Patrol officials describe Parrott as one of the "unsung heroes" of the agency.
"She excels in her duties and responsibilities and had earned the respect and admiration of all her co-workers," patrol officials said.
The Benjamin Oliver Booth Officer of the Year award was given to Cpl. Perry Hazelwood III, who patrol officials describe as a "highly motivated" officer and someone local law enforcement agencies regularly call for assistance.
In 2016, Hazelwood helped close five cases as a member of the Bollinger/Cape Girardeau Major Case Squad and became leader of the newly formed Multijurisdictional Crime Suppression Team.
The team was formed in response to increased gun violence and violent criminal activity in recent years in Cape Girardeau, Sikeston and Charleston.
Under his leadership, team members wrote 283 misdemeanor citations, made 72 misdemeanor arrests and 40 felony arrests over 30 days.
Recognizing that law enforcement agencies in the Troop E region did not have an organized, shared criminal intelligence system, Hazelwood reportedly brought this to the attention of Troop E officials.
Upon learning about the Missouri Information Analysis Center program, Hazelwood reportedly gained the cooperation of every agency in the 13-county area and helped many of the departments set up compatible computer programs and email accounts and provided training.
Trooper Adam Miller received the Valor Award for his actions on June 17 after overhearing radio traffic from the Sikeston Department of Public Safety regarding a house fire.
When Miller arrived on the scene, he reportedly saw smoke billowing out the front windows and door on one half of a duplex.
After successfully evacuating the tenants from the other side of the duplex, Miller reportedly found a rear door partially open and smoke coming from inside.
"He entered the residence, staying low and feeling his way through the duplex ... (he) came upon an unresponsive person in a chair," patrol officials said.
Miller pulled the man to the doorway, where he got help from a Sikeston officer. It later was learned the rescued man was disabled and unable to walk or talk.
Receiving the Purple Heart Award was Jason McBride, who suffered serious injuries during an April 29, 2016, traffic stop in Cape Girardeau County.
After seeing a speeding vehicle, McBride initiated a traffic stop, during which time the driver would not follow the trooper's instructions and was handcuffed. The driver resisted and returned to his vehicle to flee.
"Trooper McBride reached into the vehicle to remove the ignition key," patrol officials said. "The driver then put the vehicle into gear and began to accelerate with the trooper partially in the vehicle."
While being dragged by the vehicle, McBride repeatedly commanded the driver to stop.
When the driver failed to do so, McBride reportedly warned the driver he would fire his weapon if he did not comply. The driver, who did not stop, was fatally injured.