FBI Shield of Bravery Presented to FBI Special Agent and Illinois State Police Sergeant

On Friday, June 3, 2011, Robert S. Mueller, III, Director of the FBI, presented the FBI Shield of Bravery to Sergeant Brian Latham, Illinois State Police, Zone 6 Investigations in Collinsville, and FBI Special Agent Jonathan L. Kelly, of the Springfield Division, for their involvement in a WAVE (Working Against Violent Elements) Task Force operation shooting. The award was presented at FBI Headquarters in Washington D.C.

On Wednesday, February 2, 2010, an East St. Louis Police officer initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle containing multiple subjects. The vehicle failed to stop and a pursuit occurred. The vehicle turned onto a dead-end street and multiple subjects fled the vehicle. Two of the subjects were apprehended and information obtained on-scene led agents to a house in East St. Louis. Agents participating on the WAVE Task Force were in the area and approached the house. As agents identified themselves, Andre Ingram opened the door and drew a handgun on the law enforcement officers. Agents fired on Ingram, seriously injuring him. No law enforcement officers were injured.

The FBI Shield of Bravery is presented for brave and courageous acts occurring in the line of duty or within the scope of FBI employment which may extend to major assistance to a task force or undercover operation, grave situations, or crisis confrontations associated with the highest-priority cases of the FBI.

The case resulted from the efforts of the WAVE Task Force, which focuses its efforts on combating violent crime in East St. Louis, Washington Park, and surrounding communities. WAVE was formed in November of 2009 and is a collaboration of law enforcement officers from the FBI, Illinois State Police, the Metropolitan Enforcement Group of Southwestern Illinois (MEGSI), the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department, the East St. Louis Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the United States Marshals Service. The WAVE Task Force receives financial support through the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhood initiative, a nationwide federal program which endeavors to address gun-related violence.