AUSTIN, Texas — Several Texas Department of Public Safety personnel were recognized for their service and sacrifice during the December Public Safety Commission meeting in Austin. Awards presented included two Purple Hearts, four Lifesaving Awards, and one Unit Citation, according to a press release from the department.
The Purple Heart was awarded to Corporal Scott Keane, of Big Lake, Texas, and Trooper Derrick Waters, of Katy, Texas, for their personal sacrifice and devotion to duty. Corporal Keane was injured on November 7, 2024, while assisting in a vehicle rescue when an airbag deployed unexpectedly, causing serious injuries that required surgery. Trooper Waters sustained life-threatening injuries on September 27, 2024, during a traffic stop in Harris County when a vehicle failed to follow the Move Over, Slow Down law, striking him and his patrol unit. The driver was later apprehended and charged.
DPS Colonel Freeman F. Martin expressed pride in the honorees, stating, “Service and sacrifice are so often required in the field of law enforcement. Perhaps no one embodies those than the people we recognize here today – as they have given so much in the service of this state, and I could not be prouder to be able to honor them with a small token of appreciation and thank them for their tremendous contributions.”