Boone County firefighter killed while on duty honored by governor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Boone County firefighter killed while working at a crash scene on Interstate 70 last year was among nearly two dozen first responders honored at Missouri State Highway Patrol headquarters on Wednesday.

Bryant Gladney, an assistant chief with the Boone County Fire Protection District, was killed in December when a tractor-trailer hit his truck. Gladney was there working a crash that involved a box truck on its side. Gladney directed the district's emergency medical services and was a member of a search and rescue team sent to New York on 9/11.

Gladney was among those receiving the Red, White and Blue Heart at a ceremony in the governor's office Wednesday. The award is in its first year and honors those critically or fatally injured in the line of duty.

Zim Schwartze, a former high-ranking Columbia Police Department official who is now chief of the Capitol Police, was given the Medal of Valor, the state's highest award for public safety officers. Schwartze was recognized for guiding a man and five dogs out of a burning house in February 2021 in Howard County, the governor's office said in a news release.

Schwartze gave CPR to another man who got out of the house safely but suffered a heart attack, according to the governor's office.

Other Mid-Missouri first responders receiving awards were:

• Jeffrey Collins and John Lehman, Jefferson City Police Department: The two Jefferson City officers were honored for killing a suspect who came at Collins with a knife.
• Jeffrey Hilke, Cole County Sheriff's Office: Hilke was working at his off-duty job at a funeral home when a man in an argument with his wife pulled a gun. Hilke struggled with him for the gun, keeping him busy until help arrived.
• Dawson Payne and Lehman, JCPD: The two fired on and killed a man with a rifle during a traffic stop in June 2021.

Joshua James-Troutt and Travis Terry received the Governor's Medal for helping a sheriff's deputy when a suspect pinned him down and tried to get his gun. A group of St. Louis County police officers also won the award for their actions during a shootout between biker clubs at the Lake of the Ozarks, where they were attending a conference.