At the regular City Council meeting on June 8, Moab Mayor Emily Niehaus issued a proclamation in appreciation and recognition of three current and two former Moab City police officers: Sgt. Gerri Neumeier, officers Amanda Edwards and Travis Clark, and former MCPD officers Larry Velasquez and Steve Risenhoover, for peacefully resolving a difficult domestic violence situation in 2020 which involved a person armed with a handgun. The officers were honored by the NAACP for their handling of the incident. Edwards, a first-year member of the department, was also awarded Small Agency Officer of the Year in 2020 by the Utah Police Chiefs Association.
Before reading the proclamation, Niehaus noted that last week, full-time Moab City Police Officer Clint Johnston and civilian part-time officer Dan Malone responded to a report of a 62 year-old man who was unconscious and not breathing in a Moab hotel. Malone and Johnston arrived at the scene and performed CPR until Grand County EMS crews arrived to take over care. It was later determined that the man had suffered a heart attack.
“At this point he is expected to survive and doctors credit the early CPR administered by Officers Johnston and Malone for saving his life,” reads a May 30 Facebook post on the Moab City Police Department page.
The June 8 city proclamation reads, in part:
“[T]he City of Moab is proud to recognize the Moab City Police Department officers and officials, for their outstanding service, courageous actions, and dedicated efforts every day to keep our community safe and secure; and asks all Moab residents to join in saluting our law enforcement officers, past and present, who, by their faithful and loyal devotion, have dedicated themselves to preserving the rights, security, and quality of life for all of us.”
