enoch b. morelock award
Nodaway county sheriff honored for life-saving actions
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, presented Nodaway County Sheriff Darren White with the 2011 Enoch B. Morelock Award last night during the 9th Annual LECC Training Seminar in Springfield, Mo.
The Enoch B. Morelock Award is an annual recognition of outstanding moral character, service to law enforcement and service to the community. The prestigious law enforcement award is presented by the U.S. Attorney each year during the law enforcement training conference. It is named in honor of Sullivan County Sheriff Enoch B. Morelock, who was the first recorded line of duty death in the Western District of Missouri on Dec. 19, 1847.
White received the award in recognition of his courageous effort to save the life of a victim trapped in a burning house, as well as his ongoing contributions to the community.
On Dec. 10, 2010, at approximately 7:30 a.m., White was leaving his house to take his kids to school before heading into the office when he heard a call over his dispatch radio that there was a house on fire in the village of Pickering. White, who lives about three miles south of Pickering, was the first to arrive at the scene. One of the residents standing outside the house told White that there was another man inside a back bedroom on the second floor of the structure.
Without concern for his own well-being, White ran into the burning structure, entered the living room area, climbed a set of stairs and began looking for the victim. Through the heavy smoke, White was able to locate 60-year-old Larry Smith, who was laying on a bedroom floor, semi-conscious and unable to get out of the house on his own due to being overcome with smoke inhalation. White picked Smith up and carried him down a flight of stairs, through the living room, and outside to a spot a safe distance away. White then braved single-digit temperatures as he performed first aid by wrapping Smith up in blankets from his patrol car and maintaining an open airway until EMS arrived 10 minutes later.
According to witnesses and firefighters, the house was fully involved with flames shooting out of the roof approximately 20 feet in the air. Black, heavy smoke was rolling out the windows, doorways and roof. The firefighters also stated that you could see fire inside the walls and floors of the structure when they attempted to enter as White was leaving the burning house.
White, who is married and the father of three children, is an active member of Elks Lodge 760 and The Knights of Columbus/St. Gregory’s Church in Maryville, Mo. White participates in fund-raising events for St. Gregory’s school and Camp Quality, referee’s youth basketball tournaments, helps collect food for the Nodaway County Food Pantry, and serves school lunches at St. Gregory’s to give the staff a needed break from time-to-time. White also serves pancakes through his personal business at no cost to area schools and churches for Project Prom, AfterProm, DARE events, DWI Docu-Dramas, and Abby’s Hugs.
Enoch B. Morelock Award
Sullivan County Sheriff Enoch B. Morelock was the first recorded line of duty death in the Western District of Missouri on Dec. 19, 1847, in Sullivan County. Sheriff Morelock was shot and killed during a court-ordered sale of the accused’s property. The accused killer, Patrick McIntry, was charged with 1st Degree Murder but was later acquitted. Within a year Mr. McIntry was found shot to death on the banks of a local river.
The annual Enoch B. Morelock Award recognizes individuals with outstanding moral
character, service to law enforcement and to the community outside of law enforcement. Recipients may include officers from local police departments, sheriffs’ offices, state agencies, or federal agencies as well as investigators from prosecutors’ offices.
