News Release

For further information please contact: Sgt. Kent Casey
417-359-1500 ext. 2229
DS031808-01
March 18, 2008

EMPHASIS: Trooper Selected As Finalist For IACP National Award



On March 6, 2008, Trooper Walter L. “Corky” Burr was invited to attend the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) banquet in Washington, D.C. Trooper Burr was one of the four finalists for the Trooper of the Year award selected from state and provincial agencies from the United States and Canada.
Trooper Burr was nominated for the award following his role in the apprehension of Eiken Saimon on August 12, 2007, following the First Congregational Church shooting in Neosho, Missouri. He was a member of the team of officers who first entered the church following the shooting in which four church members were murdered.
The IACP Division of State and Provincial Police members include the leaders of all the state law enforcement agencies, and the heads of the two provincial police agencies in Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The IACP Trooper of the Year is selected from the four finalists submitted from their four regions by a committee of superintendents. The award is presented at the State and Provincial Police annual conference and banquet in the Washington, D.C. area. The Trooper of the Year award for 2007, in which Trooper Burr was a finalist, was given to Trooper Amanda S. Reif of the New York State Police.
Trooper Burr has been a member of the Missouri State Highway Patrol since 1997, and is currently assigned to the Newton and McDonald counties area.

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