{"id":29621,"date":"2025-04-16T16:44:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T20:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/?p=29621"},"modified":"2025-04-16T16:56:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T20:56:11","slug":"maryland-state-police-recognizes-troopers-civilian-employees-allied-personnel-for-courage-dedication-and-life-saving-efforts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/2025\/04\/16\/maryland-state-police-recognizes-troopers-civilian-employees-allied-personnel-for-courage-dedication-and-life-saving-efforts\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland State Police Recognizes Troopers, Civilian Employees, Allied Personnel for Courage, Dedication and Life Saving Efforts"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in\"><span style=\"color: black\">(TIMONIUM, MD) \u2013 More than 140 individuals were honored on Wednesday at an award ceremony in Timonium for their outstanding acts of courage, dedication to duty, lifesaving efforts and humanitarianism. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in\"><span style=\"color: black\">Honorees including Maryland State Troopers, civilian employees from the Agency, allied law enforcement officers, and emergency personnel were presented with Governor\u2019s Citations, Superintendent Salutes, the Life Saving Award and other distinguished awards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in\"><span style=\"color: black\">\u201cThese individuals are often the first to take action in critical moments, going above and beyond to protect, prevent and provide for those who live and visit our State,\u201d said Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr. \u201cThat is nothing short of extraordinary and I\u2019m incredibly proud to be able to recognize each person for their actions.\u201d&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in\"><span style=\"color: black\">Among the 142 recipients were personnel from agencies including the Allegany County Sheriff\u2019s Office, Baltimore County Police Department, Maryland Natural Resources Police, Montgomery County Police Department, Prince George\u2019s County Police Department, Worcester County Sheriff\u2019s Office, and the Montgomery County Department of Fire and Rescue Services.<b>&nbsp;<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in\"><b><span style=\"color: black\">Below are a few of the award recipients and their stories:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin: 12.0pt 0in 12.0pt 0in\"><span style=\"color: black\">The Maryland State Police Underwater Recovery Team (URT) was presented with a Governor\u2019s Citation for their search and recovery efforts after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on March 26, 2024. Leading coordinated dive teams from state, local and federal partners, the URT worked countless hours amidst bridge debris, steel and other hazardous materials to recover the six victims and provide closure to their families. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0167-3-1-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-29627 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0167-3-1-1024x706.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"760\" height=\"524\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0167-3-1-1024x706.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0167-3-1-300x207.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0167-3-1-768x529.jpg 768w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0167-3-1-1536x1059.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0167-3-1-2048x1411.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Among those honored and pictured above are members of the Underwater Recovery Team. From Left to Right: Corporal Lyle German, Detective Sergeant Justin Updegraff, Commander of the Underwater Recovery Team, Sergeant William Jansen, Corporal Harry Lloyd, Colonel Roland L. Butler, Jr., Superintendent of the Maryland State Police, Master Trooper James Price, Sergeant Scott Bell, Corporal Matthew Huntington, Sergeant Adam Matthai, Corporal Colton Davis, Corporal Brian Key and (not pictured) Sergeant Michael Dawson.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0053-1-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-29628 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0053-1-1-1024x831.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"760\" height=\"617\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0053-1-1-1024x831.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0053-1-1-300x243.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0053-1-1-768x623.jpg 768w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0053-1-1-1536x1246.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0053-1-1.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Trooper First Class Chase Passwaters (pictured above) was honored with a Governor\u2019s Citation for his life-saving actions that directly saved a woman from taking her own life on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge last year. Four other members of the Department were honored with Certificates of Recognition for their critical roles during this incident.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0096-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-29630 aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0096-1024x718.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"760\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0096-1024x718.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0096-300x210.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0096-768x538.jpg 768w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0096-1536x1076.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2025\/04\/DI1_0096-2048x1435.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 760px) 100vw, 760px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trooper First Class Karan Desai (pictured above) received a Superintendent\u2019s Commendation for his life-saving actions in August 2024 after being dispatched to a crash of a suspected impaired driver involved in a fiery crash. Upon his arrival, TFC Desai jumped into the vehicle, which was engulfed in flames, to rescue the driver and ensure there were no other passengers. TFC Desai\u2019s quick thinking saved the driver\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">###<\/p>\n<p>CONTACT:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Office of Media Communications, <a href=\"mailto:msp.media@maryland.gov\">msp.media@maryland.gov<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(TIMONIUM, MD) \u2013 More than 140 individuals were honored on Wednesday at an award ceremony in Timonium for their outstanding acts of courage, dedication to duty, lifesaving efforts and humanitarianism. Honorees including Maryland State Troopers, civilian employees from the Agency, allied law enforcement officers, and emergency personnel were presented with Governor\u2019s Citations, Superintendent Salutes, the<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/2025\/04\/16\/maryland-state-police-recognizes-troopers-civilian-employees-allied-personnel-for-courage-dedication-and-life-saving-efforts\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":260,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29621","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-releases"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/260"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29621"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29621\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29636,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29621\/revisions\/29636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}