A dozen Department of Corrections employees earn the Director’s Award of Valor for going above and beyond the call of duty
Story by Marcus Wilkins, photos by Garry Brix
JEFFERSON CITY, MISSOURI - At an Oct. 1 ceremony, 12 members of the Missouri Department of Corrections team were presented with the Director's Award of Valor, an honor bestowed on corrections staff who act in a heroic or courageous manner on or off duty despite personal risk.
Adrienne Warren, Dustin Burcham, Joseph Hurst, Steven Rose, Kevin Dahmm, David Wallace, Jacob Smith, Joshua Lee
Eastern Reception, Diagnostic & Reception Center
When Adrienne Warren’s teammate at Eastern Reception, Diagnostic & Correctional Center (ERDCC) in Bonne Terre, Missouri, informed her that a resident might have a weapon in his cell, a rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins.
Her instincts and training took over during the proceeding steps — first, an attempt at crisis intervention and de-escalation. When that failed, Warren and her fellow corrections officers barricaded the door to keep the resident and weapon inside.
Then they smelled smoke.
“We think he might have used butter and paper to start multiple fires in the cell,” Warren said. “We used fire extinguishers, but they weren’t working because it was a grease fire. So, then we started using buckets of water. We could still see flames all over the cell.”
Warren and her colleagues ultimately restrained the resident and put out the fire, despite smoke and chemicals searing their eyes and lungs. Their collective bravery not only saved the man in the cell but also might have saved the lives of other staff and housing unit residents that day.
“I had my team, and they had me,” Warren said. “I’m a helper at heart. We supported each other and gave each other strength in that moment.”
For their collective acts of heroism, Warren and her teammates — Dustin Burcham, Kevin Dahmm, Joseph Hurst, Joshua Lee, Steven Rose, Jacob Smith and David Wallace — earned the Director’s Award of Valor, along with four other staff members who showed exceptional courage during critical incidents.
As he distributed the awards Tuesday at McClung Park in Jefferson City, Missouri, Missouri Department of Corrections Acting Director Trevor Foley personally thanked the recipients for their selflessness.
“These staff members make us safer,” Foley said. “Most people will never know all that they do on a day-to-day basis. The opportunity to talk about it, honor them and let people in the world know the sacrifices they make is so important.”
Kevin Harwood and Ryan Koch
Probation & Parole District 4
From the other side of the state in District 4, a pair of probation and parole officers were honored for jumping into action when they saw smoke emanating from an encampment for unhoused people beneath a bridge in Kansas City.
Kevin Harwood and Ryan Koch — who were conducting home visits at the time — pulled two people trapped inside a tent from a fire. Once the Kansas City Fire Department arrived, the officers assisted by pulling a hose from the truck, transporting tools for cutting access holes in a nearby fence and removing propane tanks from the site.
“I have been in and out of the fire service since I was 14 years old, so I was just reacting,” Harwood said. “I feel honored for this recognition. But at the same time, I was just doing my job.”
Scharihen Ward, Nicole Ellzey
Jefferson City Correctional Center
Sergeant Scharihen Ward echoed that sentiment when recounting the incident for which she was honored.
In November 2023, Ward rushed to the aid of a fellow Jefferson City Correctional Center (JCCC) officer who needed help with an out-of-bounds offender. When she arrived on the scene, the offender repeatedly punched Ward in the face and then stabbed the other officer several times with a 7 ½-inch-long metal prison-made weapon.
Nicole "Nikki" Ellzey witnessed the attack from outside the wing and quickly intervened, helping her injured colleagues disarm and restrain the offender. Working together, the three team members were able to gain control of the situation and prevent harm to other staff and residents in the area.
“In the moment, you just do whatever’s necessary,” Ward said. “I enjoy making a difference each day for the DOC — even if it’s a little difference. Sometimes we don’t get recognized for it or nobody sees it, but for myself, I feel like every day when I go to work, I can help someone.”
Ellzey, who died unexpectedly in June 2024, was honored posthumously and was represented by her family.
“She was G.I. Jane,” said David Cutt, her brother and an investigator with MODOC. “She was the strongest woman I have ever known in my life — and I don’t just mean physically, although she was that, too. When it came to her job, there was no fear. She was a machine.”