By Mike Genet mike.genet@examiner.net
A hero was lost on what had been a normal September day.
“Simultaneously,” said Capt. Adam Dustman, interim chief of the Independence Police Department, “another hero emerged.”
Officer Blaize Madrid-Evans was the first hero, killed when a man opened fire as police approached a house to check for a wanted person. The second hero was Madrid-Evans’ field training officer, Josh Gena, who quickly returned fire, killing the shooter.
Even though he had just seen his partner fatally shot, Dustman said, “There was still work to do.”
Gena and Madrid-Evans were among the honorees last Friday at the Independence Chamber of Commerce First Responders Breakfast – Gena for heroism and Madrid-Evans for valor.
Dustman said the events leading up to the shooting “make me sick,” as the suspect should have been behind bars but instead was on parole from a gun conviction, and a warrant for failure to appear for a hearing had been issued just two days before.
Gena has been cleared of any charges after the prosecutor’s office reviewed the Highway Patrol’s investigation of the incident, Dustman said later. Earlier, in his praise for Gena, the interim chief he’s witnessed the officer pay for food and shelter for someone out of his pocket, and “more than once” he’s received a call from Gena asking about adopting a dog he’d encountered during the call, to save the animal a possible shelter stay.
Detective Ron Baltzer accepted the valor award on behalf of Madrid-Evans’ family, saying the family has been appreciative of the community’s efforts to keep the fallen officer’s name alive.
Also honored during the ceremony: first, and more recently was part of a team that delivered a heart to a hospital in time for a life-saving transplant.
• Craig Cumpton for dedication: Cumpton, a firefighter/EMT with the Independence Fire Department, is greatly involved with the non-profit group The Battle Within, which helps first responders deal with mental trauma. Cumpton is the department’s mentor coordinator for that program.
• Kirk Stobart for leadership: Promoted last year to deputy chief in the Independence Fire Department, Stobart had been a captain with the department and for 18 years served as president of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 781. During his time as union president, he got IFD involved in the national Boot Block fundraising effort for multiple sclerosis, led the department’s charitable foundation and helped negotiate contracts that increased firefighter safety.
• Henry McClendon for bravery: A fire equipment operator, McClendon was among the first responders called for a suicidal patient trying to jump from a 40-foot tree. When a crisis negotiator convinced the person to start scaling down the tree and that person got stuck, the fire truck ladder only reached halfway up the tree. McClendon used his prior experience with the Forest Service to climb the tree and help the person safely get to the ground.