English
French
Spanish
VietnameseGriffin: ‘I congratulate all those honored today and the countless others who put their lives on the line so that Arkansans can live in peace and safety’
LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today honored law enforcement officers from across Arkansas at the 2025 Officer of the Year Awards luncheon. At the conclusion of the event, Griffin issued the following statement:
“The men and women we honored today are true heroes, and it is my distinct honor to recognize them for their outstanding service to their communities. These officers have distinguished themselves in the past year for their excellence and dedication. But this event isn’t just a celebration of their accomplishments, it’s also a celebration of all law enforcement officers and a way for us to say thank you to those who keep us safe each and every day.
“The 2025 state Officer of the Year is Arkansas State Police Trooper Hunter Grubbs. Trooper Grubbs has distinguished himself in the past year, securing 67 felony arrests, 94 misdemeanor arrests, 115 warrants served, nine DWI arrests, six vehicle pursuits, assistance to 211 stalled motorists, 60 vehicle accident investigations, recovery of two stolen vehicles, and 111 hours assisting other agencies. Trooper Grubbs was described by his superiors as exemplifying ‘the highest ideals of the Arkansas State Police—courage, professionalism, and service.’
“I congratulate all those honored today and the countless others who put their lives on the line so that Arkansans can live in peace and safety.”
Officer of the Year awards were given to officers from each of the state’s counties, five regional winners, one recipient of the Dwayne Yarbrough Distinguished Service Award, one valor tribute (for an officer who died in the line of duty), and one statewide Officer of the Year. This year’s honorees are:
Statewide Officer of the Year: Trooper Hunter Grubbs, Arkansas State Police
Northeast Region: Corporal Chris Barnett, Corporal Dustin Carpenter, Corporal Marcus Simpson, Arkansas State Police
Southeast Region: Officer Kevin Robbins, Star City Police Department
Southwest Region: Trooper Hunter Grubbs, Arkansas State Police
Central Region: Special Agent Dustin Thompson, Arkansas State Police
Northwest Region: Corporal Dylan Gresham, Officer Drew Walker, Eureka Springs Police Department
Valor Tribute: Sergeant Fredrick T. Coleman Sr., Arkansas Department of Corrections
Dwayne Yarbrough Distinguished Service Award: School Resource Officer Ray Borel (retired), Lakeside School District and Hot Springs Police Department
County Officers of the Year:
Arkansas County: Deputy Charles Leech, Arkansas County Sheriff’s Office
Ashley County: Corporal Matt Brooks, Crossett Police Department
Baxter County: Special Agent Aaron Middleton, Arkansas State Police
Benton County: Deputy Hunter Hatfield, Benton County Sheriff’s Office
Boone County: Officer Josiah Smith, Harrison Police Department
Bradley County: Investigator Kendall Rawls, Arkansas Department of Agriculture
Calhoun County: Game Warden Tyler Asher, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Carroll County: Corporal Dylan Gresham, Officer Drew Walker, Eureka Springs Police Department
Chicot County: Trooper David Menotti Jr., Arkansas State Police
Clark County: Trooper Sean Weston, Arkansas State Police
Clay County: Trooper Christian Underwood, Arkansas State Police
Cleburne County: Corporal Briston Gould, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Columbia County: Trooper First Class Brian Palmer, Arkansas State Police
Conway County: Special Agent Kristen Dumont, Arkansas State Police
Craighead County: Sergeant David Stout, Jonesboro Police Department
Crawford County: Detective Jason Cooper, Alma Police Department
Crittenden County: Special Agent Aundrae Mack, Arkansas State Police
Cross County: Trooper First Class Bake Irvin, Arkansas State Police
Dallas County: Trooper James Reed, Arkansas State Police
Desha County: Sergeant Roland Brown, Desha County Sheriff’s Office
Drew County: Trooper Mitchell Butler, Arkansas State Police
Faulkner County: Lieutenant Taylor Decker, Mayflower Police Department
Franklin County: Trooper Thurman Lunsford, Arkansas State Police
Garland County: Trooper Hunter Grubbs, Arkansas State Police
Grant County: Corporal Harlee Robinson, Arkansas State Police
Greene County: Trooper Richard Drum, Arkansas State Police
Hempstead County: Corporal Charlie Featherston, Hope Police Department
Hot Spring County: Trooper John Crow, Arkansas State Police
Howard County: Trooper Micah Brown, Arkansas State Police
Independence County: Sergeant Dalton Wallace, Independence County Sheriff’s Office
Izard County: Special Agent Drew Widner, Arkansas State Police
Jackson County: Corporal Chris Barnett, Corporal Dustin Carpenter, Corporal Marcus Simpson, Arkansas State Police
Jefferson County: Special Agent Dustin Thompson, Arkansas State Police
Johnson County: Patrolman William Gilbreth, Patrolman Nicholas Milholland, Clarksville Police Department
Lafayette County: Chief Victor Rose, Lewisville Police Department
Lawrence County: Trooper First Class Isaac Lawson, Arkansas State Police
Lee County: Trooper Dillon Pigue, Arkansas State Police
Lincoln County: Officer Kevin Robbins, Star City Police Department
Little River County: Chief Boyd Kennemore, Ashdown Police Department
Logan County: Trooper First Class Skyler McElroy, Arkansas State Police
Lonoke County: Officer Ashley Bratton, K9 Kastor, Cabot Police Department
Madison County: Corporal Levi Watkins, Madison County Sheriff’s Office
Marion County: Chief John Spence, Flippin Police Department
Miller County: Corporal Wesley Penny, Miller County Sheriff’s Office
Mississippi County: Trooper First Class Blaine Middlecoff, Arkansas State Police
Monroe County: Chief Ed Randle, Brinkley Police Department
Montgomery County: Deputy Michael Wojcuilewicz, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office
Nevada County: Corporal Christina Bussey, Arkansas State Police
Newton County: Senior Special Agent Becky Vacco, Arkansas State Police
Ouachita County: Deputy Leslie Herring, Ouachita County Sheriff’s Office
Perry County: Corporal Seth Race, Arkansas State Police
Phillips County: Detective Nathanial Banks, Helena-West Helena Police Department
Pike County: Special Agent Christopher Harper, Arkansas State Police
Poinsett County: Trooper Nash Thomas, Arkansas State Police
Polk County: Corporal Bo Hayes, Arkansas State Police
Pope County: Detective Benjamin Tucker, Russellville Police Department
Prairie County: Chief Bradley Taylor, Hazen Police Department
Pulaski County: Corporal David Harrell, Arkansas State Police
Randolph County: Corporal Zachary Paschal, Arkansas State Police
St. Francis County: Captain Allan Spencer, St. Francis County Sheriff’s Department
Saline County: Officer Cameron Tipton, Benton Police Department
Scott County: Corporal Billy Turnipseed, Arkansas State Police
Searcy County: Special Agent Paul Robson, Arkansas State Police
Sebastian County: Detective Eric Restine, Fort Smith Police Department
Sevier County: Chief Scott Simmons, De Queen Police Department
Sharp County: Trooper First Class Quinton Maag, Arkansas State Police
Stone County: Reserve Officer John Morrow, Mountain View Police Department
Washington County: Corporal Nannette Meers, Fayetteville Police Department
White County: Special Agent Jeremy Hughes, Arkansas State Police
Woodruff County: Sergeant Sherman Cohen, Captain Andrew Gonzales, McCrory Police Department
Yell County: Officer David Alcocer, Danville Police Department
To download a PDF of this release, click here.
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 is currently an officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard and holds the rank of colonel. Griffin served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years. 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.
His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort 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.
###