Hugs, standing ovations, bowed heads and appreciation punctuated Sheriff Mike Bouchard’s annual awards for public-safety officials and private citizens who took risks to help others in 2021.
To a standing-room-only crowd, Bouchard said each of the honorees made a difference in the lives of others.
Top officials for 2021 include Lt. Paul Workman, command officer; Deputy Jocelyn Babiak, corrections deputy; Carlos Cordova, road patrol deputy; Michael E. Miller, detective; Anna Craft, dispatcher; supervisor Katie West, employee of the year; Court Deputy Robert Beno, part-time deputy of the year; Deputy Paul Rea, top reservist.
This year’s ceremony included acknowledging the more than 450 law-enforcement officers and first responders to the Nov. 30 Oxford High School shootings, in which four students were killed, six others and a teacher were wounded.
Oxford High student Heidi Allen was honored for pulling a wounded classmate to safety and barricading a door.
Bouchard said he was proud to stand alongside officers who continue to do their best every day, in a world with a growing amount of “hate, anger and evil,” during a period of diminished appreciation.
“We have to stand together,” Bouchard said. “In this family no one fights alone. We are all each other’s peer support.”
He cited two Oxford substation officers, high-school resource Deputy Jason Louwaert and Deputy Patrick Yens for valor for their Nov. 30 actions in responding to the shooting. They rushed into the high school without backup and were able to arrest the suspected shooter within moments, saving countless lives.
Bravery citations related to the Oxford shooting went to: Lt, Scott Patterson, Sgt. Frank Lenz, and deputies Kyle Weingartz, Bradley Teague, Shane Freiberg, Reynolds Grant, David Slazinski, Gregory Scheuer, John MacDonald, Scott Rafalski, James Salyers, Jeff Sauve, Todd Hawke, Amy Wakerley, Ken Wakerley, Sheri Will, and James Willyard.
Oxford High student Heidi Allen received an individual award for pulling a wounded classmate into a room and blocking the door.
Her dad, Kenny Allen, said it was important for the family to be present to honor the people “that ran towards the danger.”
What Heidi did was very brave and heroic, but “these people do that every single day,” he said, adding that his family’s unfortunate first-hand look at police response to a crisis made them understand what first responders do daily.
While it “is really cool that I have this honor,” Heidi Allen said, “it’s cooler to see all these people around me, who do it every day. It’s really cool to see that.”
She will be 16 on May 26 and said she’s more interested in getting her driver’s license and her first car than she is in having a party.
Complete results:
