Griffin: ‘The men and women we’ve recognized today have shown outstanding courage and commitment to their communities in the past year’
LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today honored law enforcement officers from across Arkansas at the 2024 Officer of the Year Awards luncheon. At the conclusion of the event, Griffin issued the following statement:
“Each year we honor the service, sacrifice, and dedication of Arkansas’s law enforcement with the Officer of the Year Awards. The men and women we’ve recognized today have shown outstanding courage and commitment to their communities in the past year. As we celebrate the ways they have gone above and beyond to keep Arkansans safe, we honor not just these few, but all law enforcement officers.
“This year’s state Officer of the Year is Chief Deputy John Cutrell of the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office. During the mass shooting at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce on June 21, 2024, Chief Deputy Cutrell was near the scene when calls began to come in. Chief Deputy Cutrell immediately jumped into action to assist law enforcement, paramedics, and victims. While on scene, he aided a paramedic by driving the ambulance to the hospital while the paramedic was treating a severely injured victim. Chief Deputy Cutrell then helped the paramedic transport the victim to their room so the medical staff could provide further medical treatment. Afterward, Chief Deputy Cutrell immediately returned to the Mad Butcher grocery store and began preserving the crime scene.
“The victim Chief Deputy Cutrell assisted that day is alive because of the chief deputy’s actions. In a situation of chaos and violence, Chief Deputy Cutrell demonstrated strength, compassion, and courage. He was among many heroes in Fordyce that day, and his actions are representative of the best of law enforcement in our state.
“As the top law enforcement officer in the state, I am committed to supporting and working with Arkansas’s law enforcement community to ensure they can continue to protect and serve our citizens at the highest levels of excellence and professionalism.”
Honorees are officers from each of the state’s counties, five regional winners, two recipients of the Dwayne Yarbrough Distinguished Service Award, four valor tributes (officers who died in the line of duty) and one statewide Officer of the Year. This year’s honorees are:
Statewide Officer of the Year: Chief Deputy John Cutrell, Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office
Northeast Region: Corporal Marcus Simpson, Arkansas State Police
Southeast Region: Chief Deputy John Cutrell, Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office
Southwest Region: Deputy Joshua Butterworth, Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Central Region: Trooper Austin Duncan, Arkansas State Police
Northwest Region: Deputy Tyler Himes, Crawford County Sheriff’s Office
Valor Tributes:
Officer Michael “Cain” Maxheimer, Shannon Hills Police Department
Deputy Justin Smith, Stone County Sheriff’s Office
Officer Tommy Foster, Jr., Conway County Detention Center
Corporal Raymond Kuuchi, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Police Services
Dwayne Yarbrough Distinguished Service Awards:
Corporal Lonnie Stone, Flippin Police Department
Sergeant Justin Wagner, Polk County Sheriff’s Office
County Officers of the Year:
Arkansas County: Deputy Patrick Johnson, Arkansas County Sheriff’s Office
Ashley County: School Resource Officer Robert Black, Crossett Police Department
Baxter County: Agent Bobby Hicks, Arkansas Department of Corrections – Division of Community Correction
Benton County: Corporal Joshua Fritz, Siloam Springs Police Department
Boone County: Deputy Tyler Nichols, Boone County Sheriff’s Office
Bradley County: Trooper First Class TreVaughn Moore, Arkansas State Police
Calhoun County: Chief Deputy John Cutrell, Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office
Carroll County: Officer Zachary Gray, Berryville Police Department
Chicot County: Trooper David Menotti, Jr., Arkansas State Police
Clark County: Lieutenant Dean Palmer, Arkansas Police Department
Clay County: Trooper Christian Underwood, Arkansas State Police
Cleburne County: Assistant Area Manager SRT Marcus “Levi” Lovin, Arkansas Department of Corrections – Division of Community Correction
Cleveland County: K-9 Officer Austin Powell and K-9 Annie, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Columbia County: Trooper Justin Cherry, Arkansas State Police
Conway County: Assistant Chief Trent Anderson, Morrilton Police Department
Craighead County: Special Agent Heath Gurley, Arkansas State Police
Crawford County: Deputy Tyler Himes, Crawford County Sheriff’s Office
Crittenden County: Trooper Dairren Evans, Trooper Dylan Evans, Corporal Billy Martin, Arkansas State Police
Cross County: Trooper First Class Kristopher McCrea, Arkansas State Police
Dallas County: Trooper First Class Jimmy Plyler, Jr., Arkansas State Police
Desha County: Deputy Alan Hernandez, Desha County Sheriff’s Office
Drew County: Sergeant Chris Austin and K-9 Aiko, Drew County Sheriff’s Office
Faulkner County: Officer Darnell Flowers, Arkansas Department of Corrections – Division of Community Correction
Franklin County: Trooper Dalton Lewis, Arkansas State Police
Fulton County: Sergeant Justin Nowlin, Arkansas State Police
Garland County: Trooper Justin Parker, Arkansas State Police
Grant County: School Resource Officer Saundra McCool, Sheridan Police Department
Greene County: Corporal Stephen Pace, Paragould Police Department
Hempstead County: Trooper First Class Trevor Dew, Arkansas State Police
Hot Spring County: Corporal Anna Eubanks, Malvern Police Department
Howard County: Investigator Tim Bowlin, Dierks Police Department
Independence County: Deputy Sherman Rucker, Sergeant Zachary Spohr, Independence County Sheriff’s Office
Izard County: Lieutenant Robert Cross, Arkansas Department of Corrections – Division of Correction
Jackson County: Corporal Marcus Simpson, Arkansas State Police
Jefferson County: Trooper James Harrell, Arkansas State Police
Johnson County: Corporal James Harmon, Lamar Police Department
Lafayette County: Assistant Chief Daniel Simmons, Lewisville Police Department
Lawrence County: Deputy Jason Fraser, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office
Lee County: Special Agent James Collins, Arkansas State Police
Lincoln County: Investigator Larry Gailey, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office
Little River County: Trooper First Class Ian Nelson, Arkansas State Police
Logan County: Corporal Jed Bolyard, Arkansas State Police
Lonoke County: Trooper Ana Escamilla, Arkansas State Police
Madison County: Game Warden Caleb McClanahan, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Marion County: Deputy Brett Castle, Lieutenant Silas Gibson, Sergeant Mark Lee, Marion County Sheriff’s Office
Miller County: Sergeant Kyle Caudle, Sergeant Matt Warner, Texarkana Police Department
Mississippi County: Sergeant Jared Camp, Manila Police Department
Monroe County: Trooper Gavin Taylor, Arkansas State Police
Montgomery County: Sergeant Emily McCaghren, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
Nevada County: Sergeant Jeremy Hendrix, Nevada County Sheriff’s Office
Newton County: Chief Deputy Mike Blocker, Newton County Sheriff’s Office
Ouachita County: Chief Nathan Greeley, Bearden Police Department
Perry County: Investigator Todd Bonds, Perryville Police Department
Phillips County: Trooper Dairren Evans, Arkansas State Police
Pike County: Sergeant Shaun Furr, Pike County Sheriff’s Office
Poinsett County: Lieutenant Jay-Ryan Woods, Poinsett County Sheriff’s Office
Polk County: Deputy Josh Butterworth, Polk County Sheriff’s Office
Pope County: Corporal Kevin Hobby, Russellville Police Department
Prairie County: Trooper Rand Lace, Arkansas State Police
Pulaski County: Special Agent Travis May, Arkansas State Police
Randolph County: School Resource Officer Felipe Baiza, Maynard School District
St. Francis County: Trooper Blake Irvin, Arkansas State Police
Saline County: Trooper First Class Austin Duncan, Arkansas State Police
Scott County: Trooper Justin Shackleford, Arkansas State Police
Sebastian County: Trooper Tucker Phelps, Arkansas State Police
Sevier County: Patrolman Rene Ramirez, De Queen Police Department
Sharp County: Senior Corporal Roger Tate, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Stone County: Special Agent Drew Widner, Arkansas State Police
Van Buren County: Special Agent Kevin Brown, Arkansas State Police
Washington County: Special Agent Heath Gurley, Arkansas State Police
White County: Corporal John Long, White County Sheriff’s Office
Woodruff County: Constable Johnnie J. Hodge, McCrory Township
Yell County: Officer Jesse Keeling, Officer Anthony Ochoa, Danville Police Department
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About Attorney General Tim Griffin
Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.
Griffin has served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years and currently holds the rank of colonel. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.
He is currently serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana. His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Liberty (née Bragg), North Carolina, and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.
Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.