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Public Safety Commission honors troopers and staff with service and lifesaving awards
Summary
The Public Safety Commission recognized troopers, pilots, crime-lab staff and others for long service, distinguished service, lifesaving responses and unit performance during its June meeting in Austin.
The Public Safety Commission recognized multiple Department of Public Safety employees and partner agents with service awards and citations at its June meeting in Austin.
Commission Chairman Mach opened the presentations by thanking award recipients and their families, saying the ceremonies are “the highlight for the commission” for recognizing service and sacrifice. Colonel Martin and other DPS presenters then summarized individual citations and unit honors.
Why it matters: the awards highlighted on-duty rescues, life‑saving responses, long-term service milestones and laboratory work supporting criminal investigations. Several citations cited direct public safety outcomes — rescues from fast-moving water, location and recovery of missing children, immediate lifesaving first aid, and DNA work that produced database hits supporting investigations.
Among the recognitions presented: Trooper Javier Arana Jr. was memorialized when DPS renamed its top trooper competition in his honor after his on-duty death; winners of this year’s Javier Arana Jr. Top Trooper competition were named (the presentation listed a top female and top male competitor). Lead Lisonbee specialist Kiana Bailey received the 2025 Adolf Thomas Distinguished Service Award for sustained contributions in the Driver License Division. Tactical Flight Officer Dustin Gardner received the Adolf Thomas Distinguished Service Award for leadership and training in aerial operations. Trooper Danny Nunez and three U.S. Border Patrol agents were cited for a July 2024 swift‑water rescue that recovered two people from a canal. Lieutenant Pilot Clay Lacy and Sergeant TFO Eric Gunnels received Lifesaving Awards for locating and directing ground units to three missing children after a near‑12 hour search. Troopers Colton Perales and Bridal Starr were awarded lifesaving citations for performing CPR and reviving an individual at a restaurant. Senior Trooper Brian Freeman received a Lifesaving Award for extracting injured children from the scene of a fiery crash and providing on‑scene care. The Houston DNA Section received a unit citation for CODIS entries and turnaround improvements that the presentation said resulted in thousands of database hits, hundreds of forensic hits and dozens of conviction matches over recent years.
Presenters noted the top trooper contest tests driving, firearms, fitness and job knowledge; the event has grown since 2012 to more than 100 competitors and is used as a leadership and recruiting opportunity for DPS and partner agencies. Chairman Mach and Colonel Martin acknowledged family members and partners who attended the ceremony.
The commission recessed for five minutes after the presentations and reconvened to continue the regular agenda.
