ASP honors troopers

LITTLE ROCK – Corporal Roy Moomey, a seven year veteran of the Arkansas State Police Highway Patrol Division, assigned to Troop H, has been awarded the department’s highest honor, Trooper of the Year (2016).

The award was presented today during the annual Arkansas State Police Honors and Award Luncheon Ceremony.

Corporal Moomey was also presented the department’s Lifesaving Award and Gold Shield.  The Gold Shield Award is presented to troopers or civilian staff, who, under honorable conditions, suffers permanent disfigurement, permanent impairment of health, or extremely serious physical injury in the line of duty.

All of the awards presented to Corporal Moomey’s were based on his actions during the early morning hours of August 8, 2016 in Crawford County when he responded to a call reporting a westbound vehicle on Interstate 40 traveling at a high rate of speed in the eastbound traffic lanes.

Corporal Moomey maneuvered his patrol car into the lane of the on-coming vehicle and in the final seconds before impact successfully prevented two vehicles and their occupants from being struck by the wrong-way driver.

The impact with the on-coming vehicle left Corporal Moomey critically injured with life threatening injuries.  He was hospitalized for weeks while undergoing multiple surgical procedures.  The 42 year-old trooper continues to undergo rehabilitation and every day says he wants to return to his job as a Highway Patrol Trooper on the highways of western Arkansas.

The department’s highest award for a civilian employee was presented to John Scarlett, a ten year veteran staff employee, assigned to the Arkansas State Police Used Motor Vehicle Dealers Licensing Section.

Scarlett was recognized for his investigative work assisting Special Agents of the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division.

Ben Alstadt, a thirteen year veteran employee, assigned to the Arkansas State Police Information Technology Section, was a nominee for civilian of the year and presented a plaque in recognition for his work in the installation and upgrade of the department’s telecommunications landline system.  His duties include operations within the Arkansas State Police data network systems and cyber security.

Three Arkansas State Troopers were presented lifesaving awards:

Trooper Kyle Bost, assigned to Highway Patrol Division, Troop A, was recognized for his July 13, 2016 lifesaving measures given to a shooting victim outside a Little Rock drive-in restaurant. (See additional details of the incident relating to Distinguished Service Awards)

Trooper Ben Ibarra, assigned to Highway Patrol Division, Troop H, was recognized for his March 9, 2016 lifesaving measures given to a woman who had begun to choke on food inside an Ozark restaurant.

Trooper Paul Robson, assigned to Highway Patrol Division, Troop I, was recognized for his July 31, 2016 lifesaving measures when a Searcy County man was wounded by fragments of a gun that had exploded.

Six Distinguished Service Awards were presented to citizens at-large and law enforcement officers employed by another agency who may have assisted the Arkansas State Police in the apprehension of a criminal or clearly and directly placed themselves in jeopardy of physical harm or death.

Angela Mull received the Distinguished Service Award for her role on July 13, 2016 in aiding a wounded employee outside a west Little Rock restaurant.

Mull, a registered nurse, had joined her husband, Sergeant Elvis Mull and Trooper Kyle Boast for an evening meal when witnesses to a shooting incident rushed into the restaurant where they were dining asking for help.

Angela Mull immediately ran to the location where the victim had fallen after being shot.  Mull and Trooper Bost began searching for the entry wounds and controlling the loss of blood.

Trooper Bost used the victim’s apron to make a tourniquet and received direction from Mull relating to where and how to apply pressure to other wounds.

Leon Harris and Kenneth Jones each received the Distinguished Service Award for their roles on April 8, 2016 rendering assistance to Trooper Travis Eddleman during a traffic stop near a convenience store in Searcy along State Highway 367.

Trooper Eddleman determined a wanted fugitive was in the vehicle and moved to arrest the suspect who immediately began to resist being taken into custody.

As a struggle continued, Trooper Eddleman and the suspect fell to the ground with the suspect attempting to get to the trooper’s gun when Jones and Harris both rushed to the side of the trooper offering help.

Jones and Harris joined in the attempts to overpower the suspect and were able to stop any further threat to Trooper Eddleman.

Kevin Gray, Ronnie Lummus and Jonesboro Police Officer Anthony Zaffarano each received the Distinguished Service Award for the roles on August 2, 2016 in saving life of a man trapped inside a burning truck.

The victim’s truck had sustained a rear-end collision from a commercial carrier truck and careened off Interstate 30 at the 72 mile marker eventually impacting a tree and bursting into flames.

Gray, Lummus and Officer Zaffarano stopped to render aid as the flames spread toward the truck cabin.  Unable to stop the flames with fire extinguishers, the men used a chain attached to another vehicle to open the driver’s door and save the driver’s life with only seconds to spare before the flames engulfed the truck.

Twenty-one Arkansas State Troopers were recognized for Official Commendations already before the Arkansas State Police Commission during the course of 2016 and 2017.  An Arkansas State Police Office Commendation is awarded to troopers and civilian staff for exemplary service through diligence and perseverance and performs duties above and beyond the standard under unusual circumstances and conditions.  The recipients were:

Corporal Kevin Growns, Highway Patrol Division, Troop J, for stopping a Perry County juvenile from committing suicide.

Troopers Kyle Sheldon, Terry Sawyer, Tim Callison, Brandon Cook, David Forthman, and Sergeant Shannon Shepherd, Highway Patrol Division, Troop K for organizing and attending a birthday party for ten year-old Hot Spring County boy.

Trooper Caleb Pevehouse, Highway Patrol Division, Troop F, for rescuing two individuals from a submerged vehicle in a flooded area of Drew County, off State Highway 35.

Trooper Herbert Bates, Highway Patrol Division, Troop J, who on two different occasions during 2016 rescued teenagers who had fallen into rugged terrain around Petit Jean Mountain.

Trooper Travis Eddleman, Highway Patrol Division, Troop B, for rescuing two individuals from a submerged vehicle in a flood area of White County near Judsonia.

Corporal Brenda Stephenson, Highway Patrol Division, Troop J, for her role in organizing and leading the creation of the Annual River Valley Superhero 5K Race that raises thousands of dollars for parents who cannot afford medical treatments, travel expenses or specialty medical equipment needed for their children stricken with serious or deadly illnesses.

Sergeant Elvis Mull, Highway Patrol Division, Troop A, for his role in the immediate aftermath of a shooting incident outside a west Little Rock restaurant that left one employee critically wounded.  Sergeant Mull strategically preserved the crime scene and directed law enforcement resources and medical personnel before releasing the scene to Little Rock Police Officers.

Trooper First Class Derek Nietert, Highway Patrol Division, Troop H, for his cumulative arrests involving drug trafficking and seizing 481 pounds of marijuana, 31 pounds of cocaine and more than $297-thousand dollars in assets to drug sales.

Corporal Michael Bowman, Highway Patrol Division, Troop H, for his cumulative arrests involving drug trafficking and seizing more than 830 pounds of marijuana, more than 51 pounds of methamphetamine, more than 7 pounds of cocaine, nine pounds of heroin, and more than $300,000 in assets connected to drug traffickers.

Trooper Josh Elmore, Highway Patrol Division, Troop H, for 22 drug trafficking arrests that lead to the seizure of 735 pounds of marijuana, and 2.5 pounds of methamphetamine.

Special Agents Sergeant Richard Gentry, Corporal John Rhone, and Corporal Corwin Battle, Criminal Investigation Division, Company C for their investigative work in July 2016 that lead to the arrest of as many as four individuals suspected in bank robberies in Arkansas and Oklahoma.

Trooper Levi Fleming, Highway Patrol Division, Troop D for his leading his post in criminal arrests and DWI arrests.  Trooper Fleming has also been recognized for his outstanding devotion to additional assignments including the Arkansas State Police Emergency Response Team as well as his devotion to supporting local community activities.

Sergeant Chad Hipps, Highway Patrol Division, Troop L for stopping a Carroll County juvenile from committing suicide.

Corporal Alan Johnson, Highway Patrol Division, Troop A for accepting additional assigned duties within the department’s Emergency Response Team and leading a team assignment providing safety assessments to other government agency office personnel.