Troopers honored for valor, saving lives

Fayetteville, N.C. — State troopers and a civilian who saved lives and helped catch suspects were honored at an awards ceremony at the Crown Coliseum in Fayetteville Thursday morning.

The awards were given by Reuben Young, secretary of the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, and Col. Randy Glover, commander of the State Highway Patrol.

"Each trooper went beyond the normal call of duty and demonstrated outstanding judgment," Glover said. "This level of service exemplifies what it means to be a state employee – to serve others."

They presented the following awards:

• Trooper R.B. Battle – CCPS Heroism Award and Highway Patrol Award of Valor. Battle entered a burning home in an attempt to prevent loss of life.
• Trooper A.S. Duff – CCPS Commendation Award and Highway Patrol Samaritan Award. Duff, who was off-duty, helped apprehend of a suspect in a drive-by shooting in Wallace.
• Trooper D.S. Gould – CCPS Commendation Award and Highway Patrol Samaritan Award. Gould attempted to perform life-saving CPR on an unresponsive woman at a residence in Burgaw.
• Trooper J. K. Locklear – CCPS Commendation Award and Highway Patrol Samaritan Award. After a wreck, Locklear tracked down an injured victim to her home. She was unresponsive, and Locklear gave life-saving care until medical personnel arrived.
• Patrol Telecommunicator F. L. Ledwell – CCPS Commendation Award and Highway Patrol Samaritan Award. Ledwell helped find an overdue truck driver. The driver was found unconscious in the cab of his truck near Columbia, N.J.
• David H. Campbell – Citizen Life Saving Award for his helping a patrol member in a time of need.

The Commendation Award is CCPS’s second-highest award for heroism and is given only to those whose judgment and courage saved others. The Meritorious Award is CCPS’s second-highest award for meritorious service or achievement.

The patrol gives the Award of Valor to a member who displayed personal bravery and self-sacrifice while preserving life or property. The Meritorious Award is given to a patrol member who demonstrated outstanding service to the state. The Samaritan Award is bestowed to a patrol member who went beyond the call of duty to help a citizen.