San Angelo DPS Trooper Honored for Flood Rescue Heroism

SAN ANGELO, TX — A San Angelo Texas Department of Public Safety trooper was among Texas law enforcement officers honored for bravery and lifesaving actions. 

The Public Safety Commission and DPS Col. Freeman F. Martin recognized the recipients at the commission’s April meeting at DPS headquarters in Austin.

“The actions of the people we are recognizing today undoubtedly saved lives,” Martin said. “It’s such an honor to be able to take the time and thank them for taking the extra step, going above and beyond, acting when others may not. These men and women make Texas a better and safer place for all of us to call home every day – and I cannot thank them enough for their bravery and selflessness.”

On July 4, 2025, during severe flooding in Tom Green County, Corporal Dustin Henderson assisted in the rescue of a woman swept from her vehicle. Working with Dove Creek Fire Chief Sontos Chavez and several area residents, the group provided equipment, reinforced rescuers on the primary rope line and entered dangerous water. When the current pulled the group under, Henderson released the line, was swept downstream until a resident retrieved him with a rope, then immediately rejoined the effort to guide the victim to shore and assist in her medical transport. 

Henderson received the Lifesaving Award. Chavez, Ryan Born, Jake Powers, Luke Wilkes, Jaron Yarbrough and Todd Wyatt received Director’s Awards. 

Trooper Brody Telfer of Belton received the Director’s Citation for his actions Dec. 21, 2024, when he pursued a suspect who fled into the Killeen Mall, crashed through a department store entrance, struck civilians and tried to drive farther inside. Telfer continued the pursuit on foot and stopped the threat. Officers Patrick Blair and Cary Spate, and off-duty Lt. Robert Mallett, received Director’s Awards for the same incident. 

Telfer also earned a Lifesaving Award, along with Deputy Kayleah Trevino who received a Director’s Award, for rescuing a woman who drove into near-freezing Belton Lake on Jan. 19, 2025, in a suicide attempt. The officers entered the 36-degree water, broke a vehicle window and extracted her despite her resistance. 

Trooper Travis Alewine of Mineral Wells received a Lifesaving Award for using a tourniquet and placing an injured driver in the recovery position after a Dec. 10, 2025, semi-trailer rollover on I-20. 

Lifesaving Awards also went to: 

Trooper Jeffrey Constant of Marshall, who applied tourniquets and stabilized a motorcyclist with traumatic leg injuries after a Sept. 7, 2025, crash in Ector County; Trooper Greg Hutchison of Granbury, who applied two tourniquets to a bicyclist struck July 29, 2025, on Temple Hall Highway in Hood County; Corporal Craig Manning of Copperas Cove, who pulled an unconscious driver from a burning vehicle July 25, 2025, in Kerr County; Trooper Ronica Muñoz of Cuero, who applied tourniquets to a woman shot during a traffic stop Sept. 27, 2025, in DeWitt County; and Trooper James Whitten of Tyler, who controlled arterial bleeding from a gunshot wound Aug. 6, 2025, in Smith County before assisting with the investigation. 

A Unit Citation was awarded to the Standardized Field Sobriety Testing Instructors for training thousands of DPS recruits and officers on impaired-driving enforcement since 2012. Honored were Sergeants Lance Hartung of San Marcos, Stephen Gresham and Sean Smith of Tyler, William “Bill” Lockridge of Waxahachie, Jason Bundy, retired, and Corporals James Salaz of Kerrville and Byron Ivey of Lubbock.