Six Department of Corrections employees earn the Director’s Award of Valor
When Ashley and Matt Downs pulled onto Highway 50 near Eastland Drive in Jefferson City, thick smoke still hung in the July air from an event they had obviously just missed. The couple was eager to get home to Park Hills after grabbing a quick bite at McDonald’s when Matt suddenly swerved to avoid automobile debris strewn across the road.
Two vehicles, one spewing flames from beneath its hood, clearly had collided and now sat crookedly in the median. The Downses sprang into action.
“I ran to the first car, and it was a young lady, wearing her seatbelt, with blood all over her face from the airbag,” said Matt, a locksmith at Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (ERDCC). “She said her arm hurt, but I didn’t know about potential head or neck injuries, so I didn’t move her. I just made sure the car was off.”
Ashley called 911 and ran to the second vehicle, where she held the driver’s hand and tried to keep her calm while Matt and another civilian passerby threw dirt on the first vehicle to suppress the flames. Ultimately, the occupants were extricated from their vehicles by emergency personnel and flown by medivac to a hospital in Columbia.
The Downses, with a collective 31 years of employment at the Missouri Department of Corrections (MODOC), said their job training helped them keep cool heads and take appropriate action.
They have been named two of six recipients of the Director's Award of Valor given to MODOC team members for acting in a heroic or courageous manner, on or off duty. Recipients were honored at a ceremony in Jefferson City May 21.
“We all have that fight-or-flight response when something intense like this happens,” said Ashley, a functional unit manager at ERDCC. “As [MODOC staff], we’re conditioned to run toward things. We’re certified in CPR, emergency response, first aid, etc. In this case, it was all about remaining calm because other people feed off of your emotions.
“I just said, ‘Squeeze my hand. I know you’re in pain, but help is on the way. I’m here.’”
About five months later and 70 miles north, Julie Teague — an off-duty sergeant at Moberly Correctional Center (MCC) — heard screaming from the yard next door at her Randolph County residence. When she saw that a 13-year-old girl was being attacked by her neighbor’s dogs, she called 911 and grabbed a baseball bat.
Teague fought off the dogs with the bat while the girl ran to safety in a nearby trailer. The dogs then turned on Teague. The girl was taken to MU Hospital for treatment of multiple lacerations and punctures, and Teague was treated at Moberly Regional Medical Center.
“As a result of Julie’s selfless act and willingness to put herself in harm’s way without hesitation … the young girl survived her lifechanging ordeal,” said Major Marcus Groza, who nominated Teague for the award. “The actions on the part of Sergeant Teague exemplify bravery, courage, commitment to human life and loyalty to the community.”
"There’s a strong likelihood my actions saved a life that day," Teague told the audience at the Award of Valor ceremony. "And though my actions left me with wounds, and those wounds have now turned to scars, it is my honor to say that I wear the scars of a good neighbor."
A third incident took place Oct. 26, 2024, at Potosi Correctional Center (PCC), when a resident refused a directive from Correctional Officer I (CO I) Tiffany Trenary to return to his cell and secure the door. After Trenary directed him to submit to wrist constraints, the resident struck Trenary in the face multiple times.
He then used a prison-made weapon, stabbing Trenary in the head and the side of her face. Officer Levi Fare positioned himself between Trenary and the assailant, placing his own life in jeopardy and also receiving stab wounds to his head. The officers then pursued the offender to the top walk of the wing and, despite their injuries, restrained him. Trenary and Fare were both transported to the hospital by ambulance, where they received stitches and were treated for other emergent injuries.
Rounding out the list is Carl "Jay" Howe, a CO I at Chillicothe Correctional Center. On May 17, 2024, Howe responded to a situation involving Chillicothe Police Officers struggling with an armed juvenile. Howe assisted the officers in restraining the subject, helping to control a dangerous, potentially life-threatening situation.