The Texas Department of Public Safety honored multiple personnel for acts of heroism and sacrifice at a recent Public Safety Commission meeting in Austin, recognizing officers who risked their lives saving others and those severely injured in the line of duty.
The ceremony at DPS Headquarters’ new Legacy Hall highlighted the dangers law enforcement officers face daily, with awards ranging from Purple Hearts for wounded officers to lifesaving commendations for those who prevented tragedy.
“Service and sacrifice are so often required in the field of law enforcement,” said DPS Colonel Freeman F. Martin. “Perhaps no one embodies those than the people we recognize here today – as they have given so much in the service of this state, and I could not be prouder to be able to honor them with a small token of appreciation and thank them for their tremendous contributions.”
Two Purple Hearts went to officers who suffered severe injuries while serving. Corporal Scott Keane of Big Lake was struck by shrapnel from an airbag inflator while helping extract a crash victim on November 7, requiring surgery to repair multiple fractures and muscle tears.
Trooper Derrick Waters of Katy faced even graver circumstances. During a September 27 DWI enforcement stop in Harris County, a driver who failed to follow Texas’s Move Over, Slow Down law struck Waters’s patrol vehicle and the stopped car.
Waters suffered life-threatening injuries requiring intensive care and extensive rehabilitation. The driver who struck him was later arrested and charged.
Four officers received Lifesaving Awards for extraordinary rescue efforts. Trooper Justin Derr of Junction dove repeatedly into a water crossing in October 2022 to rescue five people from an overturned vehicle following a human smuggling pursuit, saving four lives during 25 minutes of rescue operations.
Lieutenant Craig Henry of Austin performed CPR on an unresponsive crash victim while off duty in Cedar Park on September 6, 2025. The victim regained a pulse and stabilized.
Trooper Eric Olvera of Texarkana saved a gunshot victim’s life in March 2024 by applying combat medical techniques, including Quick Clot, an Israeli bandage, and a tourniquet, after responding to a workplace shooting in Summer.
Perhaps the most dramatic rescue involved Trooper Jesse Smith of McKinney and civilian truck driver Kevin Hughey. When a wrong-way driver caused a multi-vehicle crash on the Dallas North Tollway in May 2025, both men worked together to pull multiple victims from burning vehicles.
Smith broke windows and freed trapped drivers while flames engulfed the wreckage. Hughey, who received a rare Director’s Award for a non-department member, assisted in rescuing an unconscious passenger.
The department also recognized its Arrest Control Tactics Unit with a Unit Citation for excellence in training programs. The Austin-based unit developed courses for the Texas Army National Guard during Operation Lone Star and created innovative programs, including women’s self-defense classes and the Thin Blue Line Open Mat initiative.
The honors underscore law enforcement’s daily risks, particularly as Texas emphasizes traffic safety laws. Footage from Trooper Waters’ crash has appeared in public safety announcements promoting the Move Over, Slow Down law that requires drivers to change lanes or reduce speed when approaching emergency vehicles.
