Patricia Tufts of Columbia handed an orange rose to nine law enforcement officers as they received recognition for keeping drunk drivers off the road.
With each rose, she hugged the officers and gave them a photo of her son, Michael Tufts, a New Bloomfield police officer who died at 25 after being hit by a drunk driver. His favorite color was orange.
In 2012, Tufts drove his friend, John W. Kalogeris, 21, and Kalogeris' girlfriend, Michelle Morrow, 24, both of Columbia, home after celebrating their one-year anniversary. Kalogeris was drinking and asked Tufts to drive his Ford F-150, a truck the sober Morrow wasn't comfortable driving.
On their way home, Spencer Gordon, 20 at the time and intoxicated, hit the truck, killing Morrow and putting Tufts in a coma. He later died on Aug. 23, 2014.
Gordon was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter and two counts of second-degree assault. He was sentenced to seven years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. While he faces seven years in prison, Patricia Tufts said she and her family now endure a lifetime of mourning.
She spoke for the first time about her son's crash on Thursday during the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) of Central Missouri's first Law Enforcement Appreciation Ceremony, which honored officers with track records of making driving while intoxicated (DWI) arrests. Patricia Tufts, next to her husband, Robert, said she plans to tell Michael Tufts' story to prevent more families from suffering a similar loss.
With that, she thanked the law enforcement officers - representing the Missouri Highway Patrol, Cole County Sheriff's Office, Callaway County Sheriff's Office, Jefferson City Police Department, Fulton Police Department, Holts Summit Police Department and New Bloomfield Police Department. Though those present remembered lives lost to drunk driving, they also celebrated the officers for preventing more deaths.
"We just want to let you know how proud we are of you every day," Patricia Tufts said to the officers.
MADD's appreciation ceremony was in memory of Duane Pace, the brother of MADD volunteer Robbie Pace-Courtright, who was hit by a drunk driver in May 2002 while performing maintenance and signage for the Missouri Department of Transportation in Republic.
"It was quite a devastation to our family," Pace-Courtright said.
This week, MADD celebrates 35 years, Pace-Courtright said. She was joined by Johanna Olsen-Henry of Jefferson City, who also spoke to the officers about her interaction with drunk driving eight years ago that took the lives of her mother and brother, injuring herself and her father. Her family was on their way home from church when the crash occurred, and as she and her brother were air lifted to University Hospital in Columbia, she watched her brother take his last breath.
Olsen-Henry too expressed her appreciation to the officers for their commitment to keeping drunk drivers off the road.
"Thank you for giving them tickets and getting them off the roadway," she said. "I know it's not easy."
After victim testimonies, Pace-Courtright and supervising officers handed awards to the honored officers. They also recognized the number of DWI arrests they made in 2014 in addition to their dedication.
• Sgt. Curtis Hall with the Callaway County Sheriff's Office, 48 DWI arrests;
• Sgt. Billy Kamp with the Fulton Police Department, eight DWI arrests;
• Cpl. Nick Stobbart with the Holts Summit Police Department, 10 DWI arrests;
• Officer Clay Allen with the Holts Summit Police Department, five DWI arrests;
• Cpl. Brandon Adamson with the Highway Patrol-Callaway County, 16 DWI arrests (he's already doubled this number so far in 2015);
• Trooper Rick Dowd with the Highway Patrol-Cole County, 15 DWI arrests;
• Officer Shawn Dumsday with the Jefferson City Police Department, 39 DWI arrests;
• Cpl. Quinton Dalton with the New Bloomfield Police Department, recognized as an outstanding officer;
• Deputy Kyle Petty with the Cole County Sheriff's Office, recognized as an outstanding officer.
Personal stories not only flowed from victims, but the officers themselves, who respond to "the most horrific scenes" as one described.
Chris Hammann, the New Bloomfield police chief, talked about his sister, Hollie, who was killed by a drunk driver 10 years ago.
Dumsday said his best friend in seventh grade and his friend's family died in a drunk driving crash, while the driver walked away. He also lost a friend in college and Duane Pace, who he grew up with. After several losses, Dumsday said he was upset with the injustice and has taken action through his police work.
"There's just no reason for it," Dumsday said. "There's too much cost, not even financially, it's the lives."