ABOVE: Sgt. Cy Claypool (right) recieves the Combat Cross from Police Chief Eddie Griffin Wednesday afternoon.
Mountain Home’s finest recently took a moment to recognize the service and dedication of a dozen employees and officers.
The recipients were honored at a luncheon held at the police department Wednesday and were presented with plaques for their accomplishments.
Sgt. Cy Claypool was honored with the Combat Cross for his actions in a standoff involving a Missouri man firing a weapon at Mountain Home police officers and Claypool returning fire and wounding the man, ending the danger to the public.
Cpl. Larry Caruso was presented with a Medal of Valor for his heroic actions from a 2013 incident where the officer was dragged down the road while fighting with a suspect to stop his vehicle and surrender. Caruso’s Medal of Valor was an upgrade from a Meritorious Service Award he had previously received for his actions in that incident.
The Combat Cross Award is the department’s second-highest award, behind only the Purple Heart, which is given to those injured in the line of duty. The Medal of Valor is the department’s third-highest award.
Mountain Home Police Chief Eddie Griffin talks about Wednesday’s award ceremony.
Listen:
On the evening of March 30, 2021, Claypool responded to a call of an armed individual in the parking lot of the Casey’s General Store at 859 U.S. Highway 62 East in Mountain Home. Once on the scene, Claypool began to talk to the individual, who was agitated and non-compliant. The man eventually pulled a weapon from inside his jacket, and Claypool asked the man several times to drop the weapon. The man, who had jumped bail in Missouri, eventually fired his weapon at officers and Claypool returned fire and ended the confrontation. The man was transported to an area hospital and survived.
Claypool talked Wednesday about being recognized by the department.
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Patrol Cpl. Robert Recktenwald was also on scene for the standoff, and was honored with a Meritorious Service Award for his actions in protecting the public during the incident.
ABOVE: Cpl. Larry Caruso (right) is presented with the Medal of Valor Wednesday afternoon at the Mountain Home Police Department.
In Caruso’s 2013 incident, he was pursuing a suspect in a truck and trailer which eventually jackknifed. Caruso then left his vehicle and ran towards the suspect’s truck as he was attempting to pull away. Caruso punched out the driver’s side window and began fighting the suspect for control of the truck’s gear selector. The driver grabbed Caruso’s arm, put the truck in gear and began dragging the officer down the road.
Caruso struck the suspect in the face and yelled for the driver to stop the vehicle, but the suspect did not comply. Caruso then pulled his service weapon and warned the suspect that he would shoot him if he did not stop. The driver then grabbed at the officer’s gun and Caruso fired two rounds, striking the dash and the floorboard. That got the driver to release the weapon and finally surrender.
Caruso talked Wednesday about what happened when the driver began dragging the him down the road.
Listen:
Griffin, Lt. Eric Neal, Sgt. Kevin Litty and Caruso were each honored with Meritorious Service Awards for an armed standoff in 2020 that ended peacefully. All four had responded to a call of a distraught individual with a firearm, and the officers spent more than an hour talking to the armed individual, eventually convincing him to set the firearm down and surrender.
Dispatcher Dennis Cantrell, who died on Oct. 22, 2020, was honored at Wednesday’s luncheon with an Honorable Service Award.
Dispatcher Kyli Cantrell was recognized as the 2020 Civilian of the Year. Officer Terry Small was named the 2020 Part-Time Officer of the Year, and Cpl. Rodney Wiggins was recognized as the 2020 Officer of the Year.
Sgt. Bryan Corbett received a 20-year service pin for completing two decades with the department, and retired former police chief Carry Manuel was presented with an Honorable Discharge Award. Manuel spent 33 years with the Mountain Home Police Department, including 23 as police chief.
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