October 14, 2015 - Dustin Ramos, Texas Department of Public Safety State Trooper for the Shelby County area, was recently awarded with the 2015 Officer of the Year Award at the 2015 DPSOA Annual Conference at the Omni Hotel in Corpus Christi on Saturday, October 10, 2015.
The honor was bestowed upon Trooper Ramos following his receipt of the Director's Citation for his actions on May 4, 2014. Trooper Ramos was en-route to assist a Shelby County Sheriff's Deputy in searching for a stolen truck when he discovered the vehicle on the roadway. A chase ensued starting at County Road 2420 with Trooper Ramos in the lead, Chief Shad Sparks, Deputy Jeremy Pope followed the vehicle and attempted to pull it over; however, the driver refused to stop.
The pursuit continued to County Road 2164 and then onto State Highway 87 South where the driver continued to fail to stop. Center Police Department Sgt. Duane Gordon placed a spike strip on the roadway, which the truck did travel over causing the driver's side front tire to go flat; however it continued traveling north on State Highway 87 and Sgt. Gordon joined the chase.
A second Texas DPS Trooper, Zach Mills, put down a spike strip in the roadway just before FM 139 East to again try to disable the truck's tires. Evading the spike strip, the truck traveled left of the strip and struck Mills leaving him injured and lying by the roadway. Gordon traveled ahead of the other pursuit vehicles and struck the truck from the rear turning it to the left, where the truck traveled into a field across from Lout Town Grocery towards a home occupied by a young family located at the top of a hill.
While law enforcement and witnesses helped Mills, Gordon and Ramos fired on the suspect mortally wounding him and ending the chase which lasted for about 30 minutes and 25 miles.
Ramos returned to the scene of his injured partner, where Chief Sparks and other witnesses were, and remained there until EMS arrived. Mills endured surgeries and a long healing process. He was later awarded the Purple Heart for his personal sacrifice and efforts to apprehend a dangerous suspect. Sgt. Gordon was also presented with the Director's Award for his efforts to rescue an injured officer and apprehend a dangerous suspect.
