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Montana Highway Patrol honors local officer

by SCOTT SHINDLEDECKER
Hagadone News Network | March 20, 2021 12:00 AM

A Montana Highway Patrol trooper who has served Northwest Montana for 20 years has received the Award of Valor for his work involving a murder suspect in a high-speed chase last year.

Sgt. Jerry Ren received the Patrol’s highest award during a ceremony Wednesday at the Attorney General’s Office. Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and MHP Col. Steven Lavin presented the awards to Ren and troopers Alex Hiday and Connor Wager.

To qualify for the award, troopers must show an act of heroism and bravery, knowingly expose themselves to obvious life-threatening peril, or react to a situation without regard for personal safety to effect aid or rescue.

“Troopers put themselves in harm’s way every day to serve others, but these acts of valor stand above and are among the best in the Highway Patrol’s long history of service, integrity, and respect,” Knudsen said.

Lavin noted that “in each of these harrowing circumstances, these men faced life-threatening peril with steadfast courage and unwavering dedication.”

Ren, who lost his father Mike in a line of duty shooting April 8, 1978, was involved in a fatal shooting of a murder suspect on June 10, 2020, in Woods Bay.

Richard L. Mason had shot and killed a woman, Maxine L. Heil, on June 9 and was being chased by law officers.

“When I first got the call, all I knew was he had shot someone,” Ren said in a previous Daily Inter Lake interview. “I heard the deputy’s call that he was on Montana 82. I was on Montana 35 and headed back to the station because my radio wasn’t working well.

“I looked up and he was coming at me. He saw me and turned around and I chased him,” Ren said. “I had a feeling it wouldn’t end well.”

Mason made it into Lake County where officers used spike strips to flatten his tires. Flathead County Sheriff’s Deputy Matthew Vander Ark used a maneuver to stop the car and then Mason shot at him, drawing return fire from Vander Ark and Ren.

“I really thought he had shot the deputy at first and he was still shooting,” Ren said.

Mason died at the scene.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.