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Press Release

Jefferson City Police Officer Honored for Community Service

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Missouri
Enoch B. Morelock Award

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Tim Garrison, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that Lt. David Williams of the Jefferson City, Missouri, Police Department has received the 2019 Enoch B. Morelock Award.

The Enoch B. Morelock Award is an annual recognition of outstanding moral character, service to law enforcement and service to the community. Williams was honored on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, during the 17th Annual LECC Training Seminar in Springfield, Missouri. The prestigious law enforcement award, presented annually by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee, is named in honor of Sullivan County Sheriff Enoch B. Morelock, who was the first recorded line of duty death in the Western District of Missouri on Dec. 19, 1847.

In Williams’s 24-year career in law enforcement, he has served as an undercover officer, an accident reconstructionist, a motorcycle officer, and has been a member and commander of the agency SWAT team. He has also served as a field training officer, a defensive tactics trainer, and coordinated his agency’s reserve officers. Williams is currently serving as the agency training officer, coordinating new hire training as well as continuing education for existing officers.

Williams is well known and highly thought of in his community as well as his agency. He served as the face of the agency and the city in the aftermath of the EF 3 tornado that hit the capital city this summer, and received praise from local and national media for his handling of the press events. He is a past member of the board of directors for the First Financial Credit Union and was crucial in the merger with River Region Credit Union, where he was able to deal with concerns of members of both entities because of his strong ties to the community. He remained on the board of the newly merged River Region Credit Union and serves as treasurer of that board. In 2018, he was awarded the National Credit Union Association Volunteer of the Year Award for his dedicated work in the community.

Williams is a member of the board of directors for the local American Red Cross and Special Learning Center, which provides learning opportunities for children with disabilities, as well as a member of the local Elks Lodge. He serves as a guardian for the Central Missouri Honor Flight, where he assists the aging veterans from WW2, Korean and Vietnam Wars in their journey to Washington, D.C., to visit the military memorials.

In 2017, Williams received the Juneteenth Jefferson City Emancipation Award from Lincoln University, which is given annually to a person who has shown dedication to the protection of and service to the community.

Williams is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, and was selected to serve a six-month detail as an executive fellow with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Washington, D.C. He is a peer reviewer for the Bureau of Justice Affairs grant process, where he helps evaluate and approve various grants to law enforcement agencies around the country. He is a certified instructor in explosive investigations, Taser, and pursuit driving, among other specialties.

Enoch B. Morelock Award

Sullivan County Sheriff Enoch B. Morelock was the first recorded line of duty death in the Western District of Missouri on Dec. 19, 1847. He was appointed the first sheriff of Sullivan County, Mo., in 1845. He was in office a little over two years, but he was known to be an honorable, hardworking man intent on protecting the residents of his community. Sheriff Morelock was shot and killed during a court ordered sale of the accused=s property. The accused killer, Patrick McIntry, was charged with 1st Degree Murder but was later acquitted. Within a year Mr. McIntry was found shot to death on the banks of a local river.

The annual Enoch B. Morelock Award recognizes individuals with outstanding moral character, service to law enforcement and to the community outside of law enforcement. Recipients may include officers from local police departments, sheriffs= offices, state agencies, or federal agencies as well as investigators from prosecutors= offices.

Updated August 23, 2019