by James Jefferson, Associated Press
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A state trooper who rescued a fellow police officer during an armed standoff has received top honors from the Arkansas State Police.
Trooper Daniel J. Sanderson was named 2001 Trooper of the Year in a ceremony Wednesday that also remembered 16 troopers who have died in the line of duty in the agency’s 67-year history.
“In heaven, officers wear a different shape badge than the traditional star or the shield,” Gov. Mike Huckabee told members of the fallen officers’ families, who were among 300 attending the ceremony. “For as they walk on the streets of gold ... I think their badge is shaped like a heart.”
Sanderson, of Austin, was honored for valor exhibited on April 18, 2001, when he responded to a call for help. A police officer was held at gunpoint by two teen-age homicide suspects.
When Sanderson arrived on the scene, an off-duty police officer was questioning the teen-agers, authorities said.
Sanderson ordered the two boys to drop their guns, but 17-year-old Brian Ramme raised his rifle and pointed it at the trooper, state police said. Sanderson fired his service weapon, wounding the suspect and ending the standoff. The youth was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Sanderson was cleared in the shooting.
Sanderson also was one of five troopers who received the Medal of Valor, the state police’s highest award for extraordinary acts of valor and gallantry. The others were Sgt. William E. Beach, Special Agent Rick McKelvey, TFC John E. Rhone and Sgt. Glenn Sligh.
Seventeen state troopers and special agents received Troopers Cross awards, the second highest award presented by the agency for heroism, and 44 troopers and state police civilian employees received official commendations for exemplary service.
“They chose to exceed the standard that comes with the profession,” Col. Don Melton, the state police director, said. “You are the epitome of all that’s good about the Arkansas State Police. You represent the best.”