'We see you and we thank you': Valor Awards celebrate Cumberland County first responders
When Fayetteville police Sgt. Caleb Hudson pulled up to a Bragg Boulevard Taco Bell on February 15, 2021, he knew a man was threatening to kill every woman inside with a machete — but he didn’t know a pack of cigarettes would be crucial to saving the lives of everyone involved.
Hudson was one of dozens of Cumberland County first responders honored at the 2022 Valor Awards on Tuesday morning. The awards, organized by the Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and hosted at Manna Church on Cliffdale Road, recognized particularly heroic or significant actions of local first responders, according to Lynnie Guzman, this year’s chair for the awards. The Valor Award is given to those who deliberately risked their lives in the line of duty.
Hudson was called to the fast-food restaurant after employees reported a homeless man had pulled several machetes out of his backpack and made the threat to kill every woman inside, according to the event program. After evacuating the restaurant, Hudson went into the Taco Bell by himself multiple times to try to negotiate with the man.
“Throughout the incident, the offender experienced extreme mood swings and Sgt. Hudson worked diligently to maintain control of the situation,” the ceremony’s program said. “The offender stated that officers had signed their death warrants by messing with him and also made repeated statements that he knew officers were going to kill him.”
Hudson and the man negotiated a deal: If the sergeant could find him a specific brand of cigarettes, the man would go to the hospital to get psychiatric treatment. Hudson got the cigarettes, and the man honored their pact.
“Because of his actions, the Fayetteville Police Dept. did not have to take a life,” the program said. “Sgt. Hudson’s actions that night were a tremendous display of courage and commitment to all human life.”
The man was taken to the hospital for psychiatric care, according to Officer Alexandria Hoover, a spokesperson for the Fayetteville Police Department.
Seven types of awards were given — the Valor Award; the Lifesaving Award, given “in recognition of official acts taken in a life-threatening situation where an individual’s life in is jeopardy”; the Award of Merit, which honors “outstanding public safety work”; the Unit Citation, which recognizes an entire unit for its performance; the Citizens Award, given to citizens who helped “first responders and community members”; the inaugural AT&T Local Hero Award, given to someone nominated by the public; and the inaugural Freddy L. Johnson, Sr. Leadership Award, presented to someone who “has reached the pinnacle of community leadership,” according to the awards program.
Over 300 people attended the event and 69 awards were presented to employees from 17 different agencies.
"We come together to recognize our first responders in Fayetteville, Cumberland County and the surrounding areas," said Toni Cunningan-Cooper, president of the Greater Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, prior to the presentation of awards. "We recognize you, we see you and we thank you."
The AT&T Local Hero Award was given to Kerrie Ruppert, a 911 Communications Supervisor with the Fayetteville Police Department. Ruppert, a city employee since 2001, has stage 4 ovarian cancer and requires experimental treatment, which she schedules at 5:45 a.m. to allow her to be at work on time, Taylor said. Ruppert cried as she received a standing ovation from the crowd of hundreds after receiving her award.
“Kerrie is a hero to our citizens and every 911 operator who works with her,” Taylor said. “As she continues to fight the biggest battle of her life, her commitment to the citizens of Fayetteville and the Fayetteville 911 center remains steadfast.”
Ruppert said she was overwhelmed and humbled by the support she received. She said found out she would receive an award about two weeks ago but didn’t know the specifics until arriving at Tuesday’s ceremony and reading the program.
“I knew I had a village,” she said, tearing up. “I just didn’t know how big it was until today.”
The Freddy L. Johnson, Sr. Leadership Award was presented to the man it was named for: Fire Chief Freddy L. Johnson, Sr., of the Stoney Point Fire Department. Johnson was surprised with the award by Fayetteville Technical Community College president Dr. Larry Keen.
“The most uncommon thing in the world is a common person,” Keen said. “He’s one of the most non-assuming people I’ve ever met, but when he speaks, people listen, and I’m one of them.”
The award was given to Johnson and named after him because he embodied leadership in his 47 years of work in law enforcement and firefighting, Keen said.
The following people and agencies also received awards:
Capt. Jeffrey McPhail and firefighter Spencer Rowell, members of the Fayetteville Fire Department, received the Valor Award for their efforts to rescue victims from burning vehicles in a fiery 3:45 p.m. crash on Gillis Hill Roadon June 8. The crash, which killed 17-year-old Hoke High School student Kaleb Harris, injured five people. McPhail and Rowell rescued a man from the rear seat of one of the burning vehicles. Lt. Freddie Brown II, Lt. Aaron Culbreth, Jordan Williams and Capt. Phillip Williams, members of the Fayetteville Fire Department; Brianna Castro, Megan Sward, Katarzyna Krawczyk, Jill Phelan and Megan Roberts, members of Cumberland County EMS; and Nathan Lucas, Lt. Chandler Stewart and Juwaan Tolbert, members of the Stoney Point Fire Department, received the Merit Award for their efforts to provide first aid to the victims.
Capt. Andrew Hawkins and Eddie Jean Pullum, members of the Fayetteville Fire Department, received the Merit Award for their actions at a fire at the Carolina Highlands assisted living facility on Fordham Drive on Nov. 13, 2021. Ryan Hicks and Battalion Chief Thomas Warren, also members of the Fayetteville Fire Department, received Lifesaving Awards for helping a severely burned woman at the scene and extinguishing flames that spread to a nearby apartment building. Pullum was honored for providing medical assistance to the burn victim before she was taken to the hospital, while Hawkins was honored for helping Hicks and Warren with water supply and hose to battle the fire.
Senior Sgt. Nicole Mincey and Detective Michael Figueroa of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office and Special Agent Seth Goodwin with the Atlanta Field Division of the Social Security Administration were honored with the Lifesaving Award for their part in the search for a missing Fayetteville teen. After a Silver Alert was issued for a 19-year-old who was cognitively impaired, Mincey found out the young woman was last seen getting into a car near her home. Detectives discovered she'd been convinced to run away with an older man she’d met online. Duncan Thomas Sherrington, 51, was arrested in New Orleans by FBI agents on a charge of felony kidnapping; Sherrington was also wanted for several sex crimes in England, officials said. The teen was reunited with her family April 4.
Capt. Jason Bullock, Master Firefighter Matthew Davenport, firefighter Tyler Goode, Capt. John Hall, Lt. Jerry Hahn and Assistant Fire Chief Joshua Hopkins of Fort Bragg Fire and Emergency Services received the Lifesaving Award for their part in a rescue operation Aug. 5, 2021. Members of the 82nd Airborne Test Directories were conducting a free-fall and static line parachuter jump into Lake Auman in West End on Aug. 5, 2021, when a support agency’s boat overturned, sending eight people into the water. Members of Fort Bragg Fire and Emergency Services rescued the victims from drowning. When a paratrooper later flew off course and landed in a tree about 40 feet off the ground, Fort Bragg EMS rescued and treated the paratrooper.
Senior Sgt. Nicole Mincey, Sgt. Daniel Frankart, Sgt. Robin Brinkley and Sgt. Mickey Locklear of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office received the Lifesaving Award for their actions during a hostage situation Feb. 17. Mincey convinced a man holding his ex-girlfriend at gunpoint inside of her home to let her go and leave the house, while Frankart, Brinkley and Locklear helped Mincey negotiate with the man.
Engineer Shawn C. Thompson of the Hope Mills Fire Department received the Lifesaving Award for successfully resuscitating a man without a pulse while on vacation in Myrtle Beach.
Deputy John Molamphy with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office received the Lifesaving Award for successfully applying two tourniquets for a man bleeding from a self-inflicted cut to his left arm Jan. 22.
Bethany Fire Department, Eastover Fire Department, Vander Fire Department and Cumberland County EMS received Unit Citations for their work at a fatal two-vehicle accident Dec. 19, 2021 on Maxwell Road. The agencies helped rescue two people with life-threatening injuries who were trapped in their vehicles.
Vander Fire Department Rescue 2 and Engine 231, Cotton Fire Department Rescue 4, Eastover Fire Department Rescue 1 and Engine 132, Engine 2432 of Grays Creek Station 24, Cumberland County EMS, Troop B-1 of the State Highway Patrol and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office received Unit Citations for helping to extricate the victims of a fatal wreck near the rest area on Interstate 95 North on June 9. A man, small child and woman were trapped inside an overturned tractor-trailer carrying produce. The man and child were killed, but the woman was rescued after about 90 minutes and was taken to the hospital.
Gail Stewart, an office assistant for LifeLink, received the Merit Award for her 25 years of work.
Assistant Fire Chief Thomas Hines with the Fort Bragg Fire and Emergency Services received the Merit Award for his work in data analysis, documentation and accreditation.
Capt. Michael Frickman of the Fayetteville Fire Department received the Merit Award for his work in replacing the department’s records management system.
Jill Phelan, a paramedic with Cumberland County EMS, received the Merit Award for her dedicated patient care.
Capt. Joseph A. Belcher with the Stoney Point Fire Department received the Merit Award for his 25 years of service.
Deputy Fire Chief Moisbiell Alvarez received a Merit Award for his coordination of the weeklong Public Safety Summer Camp for teenagers.
Detective Jonathan Miller with the Fayetteville Police Department received the Merit Award for his work operating the Cyber Crimes Unit by himself for the past 17 months. Miller worked 75 cases and 375 forensic searches over the past year.
Officer Timothy Krause with the Fayetteville Police Department received the Merit Award for his actions during a shooting March 16. When it appeared the shooters were returning to the crime scene, Krause instructed the victims to get back inside their home and met the culprits with his handgun drawn. The suspects were arrested.
Police Specialist Michael Morin with the Fayetteville Police Department received the Merit Award for his actions during the theft of a school bus Dec. 9, 2021. The bus was reported stolen at 6:05 a.m. and members of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office requested help at the intersection of Cliffdale and Skibo roads. Morin jumped on top of the bus as it was driving away and told the driver to pull over; when the driver did pull over about a mile later, he tried to drive away again, but Morin pulled him away from the steering wheel and kicked his foot off the accelerator. As the man was arrested, Morin realized the bus was still rolling and jumped on to fully stop it.
Cpl. Jamie Washington of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office earned the Merit Award for negotiating with an impaired man involved in a police pursuit May 15. When the driver’s vehicle was disabled, he announced he had a bomb in his truck and intended to kill everyone around him. Washington negotiated with the man for 30 minutes and convinced him to surrender.
Adam Johnson, a 911 Emergency Communication Center Supervisor and Manager with Cumberland County EMS, received the Merit Award for his dedicated service.
Garry Crumpler, an Emergency Management Coordinator with Cumberland County Emergency Services, earned the Merit Award for his work.
Fire Marshal Robert S. Carter, Jr., of the Hope Mills Fire Department, received the Merit Award for his service in fire safety education.
Master Trooper Antwaion Wickware with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol earned the Merit Award for his dedicated service.
Officer Pedro Delgado and Detective Sarah Shirey of the Fayetteville Police Department earned the Valor Award for their actions Dec. 11, 2021. Delgado and Shirey were off-duty when they saw a vehicle crash into a fellow officer’s marked car at the end of the annual Christmas Parade on Hay Street. Shirey checked on their colleague, while Delgado checked on the other driver, who had a knife in his hands. Delgado and Shirey ultimately arrested the man.
Christopher Dudley, a paramedic with Cumberland County EMS, received a Valor Award for his negotiations with a patient threatening to kill herself and holding a knife. The woman attempted to grab an AR15, but Dudley and others prevented her from doing so. The woman was taken to the hospital for psychiatric help.
Haley McQueen, an EMT with Cumberland County EMS, earned the Valor Award for stepping in between a patient and her colleague July 6 as the patient tried to attack her colleague.
Retired Fire Chief Wayne Lucas of Station 17 of the Godwin-Falcon Volunteer Fire District was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his 52 years of service.
Retired Fire Chief Kevin N. Herndon of Station 18 of the Grays Creek Fire District was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his 50 years of service.
Mike DiAntonio, an employee at Fayetteville Auto Mall, received the Citizens Award for his actions May 20. DiAntonio was closing the dealership when he smelled smoke and found a locked parts room with a fire inside. DiAntonio got a coworker to call 911 while he broke the door open and put out the flames with a fire extinguisher.
Public safety reporter Lexi Solomon can be reached at ABSolomon@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cumberland County first responders honored at 2022 Valor Awards
