5 troopers from Fortt Wayne honored at ISP awards ceremony

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WANE) - Five troopers from Fort Wayne were honored at the Indiana State Police Recognition and Awards Ceremony.

The following was released by the Indiana State Police on Friday Oct. 5, 2012:

Combat Action Award is given to a Trooper who performed in an intelligent, courageous, responsible manner involving self-sacrifice while at risk that involved elevated circumstances of danger to the officer.

• Sergeant Aaron Cook and Master Trooper Larry Schenk were involved in an incident on July 12, 2009 in rural Huntington County in which a domestic situation between a father and adult son resulted in arson of an outbuilding. The following morning, the suspect came out of a corn field and was seen and heard by both Troopers as they sat in marked vehicles near the father’s home. The suspect was armed when he left the cover of the field. Both Cook and Schenk took defensive positions and ordered him to drop his weapons. He fired on the Troopers and they returned fire. The suspect was hit, fell to the ground and then took his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
• Master Trooper Doug Kelly located a stolen vehicle on May 21, 2009, and when he tried to stop it, a vehicle pursuit ensued. The vehicle drove into a plowed field and got stuck. Kelly chased the driver on foot. When Kelly caught him, the driver grabbed Kelly’s lapel microphone and tried to grab his gun from his holster. The driver ran off again and when Kelly caught him a second time, Kelly was struck in the head by a rock. A second officer used his Taser to help subdue the driver who was taken into custody. Kelly suffered wounds to his head along with two broken fingers.

District Life Award is presented to the top OWI enforcement Trooper for each of the 14 State Police posts and recognizes their efforts in reducing the number of traffic deaths on Indiana roadways.

• Trooper Caleb Anderson had 150 OWI arrests in 2011, which is second in the state among all Troopers. Anderson also won this award in 2009 and 2010.

2011 Life Award Top Five is presented to the top five OWI enforcement Troopers from across the entire state.

• Trooper Caleb Anderson (number two) -150 OWI arrests
• Trooper Clint Hetrick (number five) - 110 OWI arrests

Trooper of the District is presented to a District Trooper from each of the 14 State Police posts, as chosen by command personnel, who have performed beyond normal expectations in, but not limited to traffic and criminal enforcement, community involvement and specialty assignments such as SCUBA, ERT, Meth Lab Team, Instructor ratings, or other services performed.

• Trooper Clint Hetrick - His award states “Presented in recognition for the high level of service, dedication and professionalism exemplified in service to the citizens of Indiana and the Indiana State Police”