Pettis County Deputies Receive Hero’s Welcome Home

At 5:44 a.m. Friday, the Pettis County Special Emergency Response Team (SERT) was executing a narcotics-related search warrant in the 27000 block of Route BB in the Longwood area, when two Pettis County Deputies were shot.

Deputies Mike DeHaven and Deputy Jacob Brown were injured and sent to area hospitals. Brown was treated and released at Bothwell, while DeHaven spent the weekend at MU Medical Center in Columbia.

The suspect, 62-year-old James Joseph Elsea, was taken into custody.

The case was investigated by the  Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control.

A Hero’s Procession was held Sunday afternoon  to welcome both of them home, with a meet & greet held outside the Pettis County Sheriff’s Office.

We asked Pettis County Sheriff Brad Anders to share his thoughts with us:

“We have two heroes who just came home. And we’re very blessed, very thankful to have them here,” Anders said, adding that he can’t remember when the last time a Pettis County Deputy was shot in the line of duty, if ever.

DeHaven and Brown received prompt medical care due to having paramedics on scene at the time of the incident.

“They really got inside the hot zone and started applying all the lifesaving measures they can, and they did that fearlessly,” commented Sheriff Anders.

The sheriff said that he witnessed phenomenal community support as the two deputies were escorted into Sedalia by dozens of law enforcement vehicles, first responders, Pettis County Fire, and the MSHP on Sunday.

“To see all the lights behind you, and you see all of those people on the side of the road, and all you can do is just feel loved. We’re just absolutely honored to be in this community,” Anders told KSIS.

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He noted that Deputy Brown went full time with the department when Anders became Sheriff. Deputy DeHaven was a reserve officer at the time, making their injuries a personal one for him.

“It’s that way with every deputy,” Anders stressed. “I was talking with some people the other day, and it’s like having 56 children who decided to get into law enforcement. Then every time something like this comes up, it takes years off your life worrying about them, and hoping everything’s going to be okay. I’m honored to be able to go with them a lot, just to be sure they’re going to be okay. It makes me feel better to be there.”

As for the injured deputies returning to duty, Anders said he did not know.

“They both have a long road ahead of them. We’re going to stand beside them and do everything we can to make sure they’re okay,” Sheriff Anders said.

“From the moment we went down ‘til arriving here, we’ve been nothing but taken care of,” remarked DeHaven to the crowd.

“We got taken care of, from the ambulance crews who took us to the hospitals, the hospital crews that were there day and night for us. There’s not a bad thing I can say about this experience, other than the actual event,” DeHaven stated, drawing a laugh from the crowd.

“We have felt the love of the community, we’re very fortunate to liv and work (here), and very fortunate to have the friends and family that we have, and we really appreciate everyone’s love,” DeHaven said.

Deputy DeHaven estimated that only three minutes elapsed between the time he was shot and the time a paramedic placed a tourniquet on him.

“As much of a bad thing as it was, a lot of good was seen in it,” DeHaven concluded.

Deputy Brown credited the extensive training he received helped him get through this terrible experience. “Without the training, it could have been a lot different,” Brown told the crowd. “Everyone’s been extremely helpful.”

Sheriff Anders added that there were dozens and dozens of absolute heroes in the crowd gathered to honor DeHaven and Brown on Sunday afternoon.