Three Sikeston DPS officers honored for their heroism

SIKESTON — Three Sikeston Department of Public Safety officers were honored Thursday, Sept. 12 at the state level for their heroic actions.

Sgt. Jacob Kubelka-Peck, Officer Shaun Goodwin and Officer Dakota Harrington were awarded the Medal of Valor by Gov. Mike Parson for actions taken in 2023. The Medal of Valor is Missouri’s highest award recognizing public safety officers who exhibit exceptional courage, extraordinary decisiveness and presence of mind and unusual swiftness of action, regardless of his or her personal safety, in the attempt to save or protect human life.

The three officers were honored Thursday during the Missouri State Highway Patrol Gymnasium’s Public Awards Ceremony in Jefferson City, Missouri.

Just before 1 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2023, Peck, Goodwin and Harrington responded to a residential area for reports of a person shot and began canvassing the area for a suspect. They then received information that the suspect was believed to be close to a pool in a nearby apartment complex in the 100 block of Pine Street. The three officers resumed their search in that area and located a juvenile outside the suspect’s apartment.

The girl told the officers the suspect had entered the apartment armed with a pistol a few moments earlier and said he intended to kill himself. She said her 12-year-old brother was still inside the apartment. The officers then heard a single gunshot from inside the apartment.

Fearing for the safety of the child and without regard of their own safety, Officers Peck, Goodwin and Harrington immediately ran to the apartment door, forced it open and located the 12-year-old lying in bed near the door.

As the officers began getting the child up to remove him from the apartment, the suspect opened fire from a bedroom, firing about half a dozen shots at the officers.

Despite being under fire, the officers managed to get the child out of the apartment and to safety.

“Thankfully, they were able to get the child outside, and no one was struck,” said Sikeston DPS Chief James McMillen, who nominated the officers.

Sikeston’s Special Operations Group, or SOG, later arrested the gunman, Phillip Joshua Swift, without further incident. McMillen said Swift received a federal sentence in August.

When the life of an innocent child was at risk, Peck, Goodwin and Harrington acted without hesitation to protect the child, despite the danger a suicidal gunman posed to themselves.

McMillen said a few months after the incident, he submitted Peck’s, Goodwin’s and Harrington’s nomination for the Medal of Valor Award to the state of Missouri for. Peck was promoted to sergeant in May 2023.

“I was really proud of the three officers,” McMillen said. “They put those awards out every year. It doesn’t happen very often, but sometimes incidents happen that I think are worthy of being recognized and this was certainly one of them, so I nominated them and they were approved.

McMillen continued: “Those officers heard the gunshots and went inside anyways so  I was very proud of them for their bravery.”

Nominations are now open for heroic acts performed during 2024 and must be received by Feb. 28, 2025. The nominating forms are available on the Missouri Department of Public Safety website at https://dps.mo.gov/medal/.