Officers recognized for heroism amid shooting

Paul B. Johnson, The High Point Enterprise, N.C.
·2 min read

Nov. 4—HIGH POINT — Two High Point Police Department officers were honored during a ceremony Friday for saving the life of a woman and her unborn child after responding to a shooting along a major city roadway this past May.

Officers Jerry Trew and Matthew Lopes were presented the Lifesaving Award by Police Chief Travis Stroud for their heroism during the immediate aftermath of the shooting involving people in two cars.

On May 23, the officers received reports of a car wreck and an assault with a deadly weapon in the 1800 block of S. Main Street. A 36-year-old woman, who was five months pregnant and had been shot several times, had been in one of the vehicles.

Trew and Lopes applied tourniquets and maintained pressure on the wounds until the woman could be transported to Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital in Greensboro.

Stroud said the quick and effective actions of the officers saved the woman's life.

Deputy Chief Anthro Gamble said the woman was shot five times and was bleeding profusely. Trew and Lopes made the split-second decision to place masks on the woman's wounds when they ran out of gauze, Gamble told the crowd gathered for the ceremony.

In an interview with The High Point Enterprise before the event began, Trew and Lopes said their training guided the quick response to save the woman's life.

"What we saw that day was gruesome," said Lopes, who's been with the department for six years. "But our training allowed us not to panic and do our jobs."

Trew, who has been with the department for five years, has kept in touch with the woman and said she and the baby are doing well.

Trew and Lopes say they appreciate the award, but added that any other High Point police officer could have achieved the same results because of the department's professionalism.

In May, investigators determined that two cars were involved in a wreck and ended up in the parking lot of a business. One car was struck at least eight times by gunfire.

A pair of 19-year-old men, one from High Point and the other from Thomasville, were charged this past May with attempted murder, according to police.

Trew and Lopes were honored during the annual High Point Police Department Promotions and Awards Ceremony at City Hall.

Seven officers and one civilian received promotions. They are:

—Maj. Curtis Cheeks III

—Capt. Zachary Trotter

—Capt. Rachel Juren

—Lt. John R. Tatro

—Lt. Kyle Teschke

—Lt. Ian Stanick

—Lt. Josh Mears

—Crime Scene Supervisor Manal Khalil

pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul