Several honored by police for extraordinary efforts

By Brandi Makuski

Eight area residents were honored at Saturday’s police-sponsored dinner for their extraordinary efforts to help others.

Stevens Point police held their annual recognition dinner on Dec. 8 at Rookies Sports Pub in Stevens Point. The event is now in its fifth year and honors the SPPD Auxiliary Unit, as well as citizens who were awarded the department’s Recognition Coin—the highest civilian honor given by the department.

“It’s just a small token of appreciation the department gives to civilians who didn’t turn their backs when they really could have,” said Assistant Police Chief Tom Zenner.

The awards follow:

Jace. J. Stuebs and Kevin Moldenhauer
Stuebs and Moldenhauer were traveling on Brilowski Rd. near County Hwy. HH on Dec. 16, 2017, when they encountered a female motorist with a dead car battery. The woman was reportedly nine months pregnant and had with her a young boy. Stuebs and Moldenhauer offered to drive the woman and child to Walmart and purchase her a new car battery, remaining on the scene until her vehicle was operational and the family was back on the road. Both men were awarded Recognition Coins by Ofc. Robert Roser.

Neco Whitcraft
Whitcraft works at Kwik Trip on Maria Dr., and on Jan. 12 became suspicious of an individual attempting to purchase a large number of gift cards using a credit card. The transaction did not go through. Whitcraft had been alerted to similar incidents at other Kwik Trip locations using stolen credit cards. Whitcraft contacted other area Kwik Trips to alert them, then contacted the police. Using the vehicle description provided by Whitcraft, Stevens Point police were able to identify and arrest two suspects who had fraudulently purchased gift cards in several other states. Whitcraft was awarded a Recognition Coin by Ofc. Kris Marchel.

Joseph Prokop and Larry Dingus
Prokop and Dingus both work for CN Railroad and were present on Feb. 17 when a man was struck by the train. Prokop, a member of the National Guard who deploys to Afghanistan in July, said the man appeared to “lay down about 100 feet in front of us, and we were able to stop about 70 feet after he was hit”. The man had suffered a traumatic amputation of his leg, and Prokop and Dingus managed to fashion a makeshift tourniquet using a phone cord and hammer, which reduced the man’s blood loss and saved his life.  The coins were awarded by officers Trina James and Mel Plummer.

Travis Eaton
Eaton acted quickly on Oct. 9 when his friend indicated via text message they intended to commit suicide. Eaton called police then drove to his friend’s residence, where he found his friend in the process of hanging himself. Eaton elevated his friend’s weight and removed the rope, then called 911, saving his friend’s life. The coin was awarded by Ofc. Travis Lepinski.

Jerimiah Morgan and Jermaine Morgan
Jerimiah Morgan, 10, had just exited his school bus on Oct. 23 and was walking home when he noticed he was being followed by someone wearing a trenchcoat. When he turned around to confront the man, the man opened his jacket and showed Jerimiah a handgun. Jerimiah was “very frightened”, according to Sgt. Greg Bean, but ran home to tell his father, Jermaine, who immediately called 911. Based on Jerimiah’s description, police located the suspect, and while the man was only carrying a BB gun he was cited for disorderly conduct. The Recognition Coin was awarded by Bean.

“The police department is only as good as the community it serves,” said Sgt. Steven Spath. “The actions of these few individuals prevented crime and in some cases, saved lives.”