CAMDEN COUNTY, Mo. — Camden County Sheriff Colonel Jimmy Brashear has received the Medal of Valor for his heroic efforts in wrestling away a gun and saving the life of a suicidal man, as well as preventing injury to the subject’s wife, at great peril and risk to his own life.
Brashear received the award on Wednesday, Feb. 14.
On July, 19, 2014, Colonel Jimmy Brashear responded to an emergency call at 240 Channel Road, (off Highway 135) in Gravois Mills, regarding a 911 emergency "check well-being" call.
The sheriff’s office had received a call regarding a despondent subject who was possibly at his lake home. The man’s wife was fearful he might harm himself and was driving down from Kansas City to check on him.
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After arriving and searching the home, Colonel Brashear was met by the wife. She observed that the workshop locks had recently been changed and she requested Brashear to force entry. Brashear noted the windows of the shop were blacked out, making it impossible for him to see inside. After kicking in the door and making entry to the workshop, Brashear was confronted by the subject who was pointing a gun directly at him.
As Brashear backed out the door, the wife remained inside the workshop, hugging her husband in an attempt to calm him. Brashear then radioed to command for assistance.
After a few moments, the wife emerged from the shop, carrying the handgun. Believing the subject to be disarmed, Brashear entered the workshop again, followed closely by the wife.
As his eyes adjusted to the darkened conditions, Brashear realized the subject had another handgun behind him. Colonel Brashear then deployed the Taser into the subject’s back, which caused him to fall forward onto his stomach.
If you're looking for a hero, we found a whole crew of them.
The gun was pinned underneath the subject, and as Brashear jumped onto the subject's back, three shots were fired from the subject’s gun. After the shots, Brashear managed to wrestle the gun away from the subject and cuff him.
No one was injured by the shots, as they were lodged into the shop wall. The subject was then life flighted to the hospital for treatment and has since recovered.
“I take great pride and pleasure in presenting Colonel Jimmy Brashear with the department’s Medal of Valor,” Sheriff Helms said. “Due to his calm resolve and his courage under great peril, at the risk of his own life, Colonel Brashear was able to disarm the subject without killing him. His actions reflect great credit upon himself and are keeping with the highest traditions of the Camden County Sheriff’s office.”
Later, the subject’s wife personally thanked Colonel Brashear’s for saving her husband’s life.
