Their response to the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey on the Gulf Coast earned 12 Texarkana, Texas, firefighters the honor of being named TTFD Public Safety Officers of the Year on Thursday at the Texarkana Rotary Clubs' 38th annual Public Safety officers Appreciation Luncheon.
"They responded to things many Texarkana firefighters will never see. Including fires at oil refineries and shrimp boats," said Texarkana, Texas, Mayor Bob Bruggeman while introducing the firefighters. They also conducted hundreds of water rescues.
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A benefit held for the Special Olympics of Arkansas at The Flying Saucer in Little Rock on Thursday, March 12.
The luncheon was held at Texarkana Ark., First United Methodist Church Cabe Center. The Wilbur Smith, Oaklawn, Sunrise and International Rotary clubs hold the luncheon each year. Each local law enforcement and fire department honors at least one officer each year.
The Texas-side firefighters responded in three teams to locations including Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas. They responded as part of mutual aid agreement that often deploy across the state of Texas for incidents such as floods and wildfires.
"They slept on the floor of a local mall and then moved to a bowling alley. These were not five-star accommodations," Bruggeman said.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge spoke at the event and said she was surprised when someone asked her if this was her first time in Texarkana.
"I'm kind of like the furniture, I've been down here so often, she said."
Rutledge, a native of Batesville, Ark., was elected attorney general in 2014.
She praised the bravery of public safety officers and their families.
"They all answered the call to do something above and beyond. Each and every day, they go out and protect us but it's not just them, it's their families too. They never know when their husband or wife goes out the door, if they are coming back. I want to say thank you to the families and give you a round of applause," Rutledge said.
Rutledge paraphrased Luke from the Bible when talking about the officers.
"No greater love exists than a man who would lay down his life for another man," she said.
"Each one of you called to protect your communities know that I will always have your back," Rutledge said.
Rutledge said Internet crimes and the opioid epidemic are two growing challenges to law enforcement.
On Wednesday, Rutledge was at the White House when President Donald Trump signed opioid legislation into law.
The bill includes provisions aimed at promoting research to find new drugs for pain management that will not be addictive and expands access to treatment for substance abuse disorders for Medicaid patients.
"I had the honor of being at the White House yesterday (Wednesday) with President Trump when it was signed," Rutledge said.
Rutledge said fighting the opioid crisis is a priority of hers as attorney general. She said her office takes a multifaceted approach to combating the epidemic by focusing on prevention, treatment and litigation.
"It doesn't matter a person's race, gender or economic status. It's affecting every county in Arkansas and wreaking havoc on law enforcement," she said.
The 2018 Public Safety Officers of the Year are:
- Texarkana, Texas Fire Department-Assistant Fire Chief Chris Black, Battalion Chief Alan Sikes, Capt. Don Rich, Capt. Dakota Huddleston, Capt. Ken Chamblee, Driver/Engineer Marty Lawrence, Driver/Engineer Lucas Shelton, Driver/Engineer Hunter Fant, Firefighter Owen Jones, Firefighter John Taylor, Firefighter Brad Smith and Firefighter Lane Peeples.
- Texarkana, Ark., Fire Department-Capt. Shane Richardson, Engineer John Alquist and Firefighter Kevin Dildine
- Bowie County Sheriff's Office-Deputy Nick Moses
- Miller County Sheriff's Office-Uniformed Patrol Division
- Texarkana, Texas Police Department-Officer Austin Butts
- Texarkana, Ark., Police Department-Detective Wayne Easley and Detective Shane Kirkland
- Arkansas State Police-Special Agent Adam Pinner
- Texas Department of Public Safety-Trooper Aaron "Ty" Jones