Three Fairview Heights policemen awarded for ‘heroic action’

Three Fairview Heights police officers were awarded for “heroic action” by the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police earlier this month.

It was 2 a.m. on Sept. 25, 2012, when Officer Jeff Stratman pulled over a car that he suspected was used in a string of recent car burglaries.

Another officer, Jeff Blair, and his K-9 dog arrived for support, as well as Officer Tony Flinn.

Performing an open-air sniff of the pulled-over vehicle, the dog gave a positive signal for narcotics, but when Stratman and Flinn went to open the vehicle to search it by hand, the driver started shooting.

One bullet hit Stratman’s flashlight, and shrapnel from another bullet lodged itself in his hands. Stratman and Flinn fired back at the shooter, Dallas McIntosh, before he sped off.

After McIntosh’s gray Camaro was seen in Caseyville, Flinn and Blair pursued him through East St. Louis back to his home in Centreville where he and a passenger were arrested.

Stratman retired on disability after that day. In January 2015, McIntosh was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

“These Fairview Heights officers risked their own lives without hesitation to make their community a better place for all law-abiding citizens,” David Wickster, executive director of the fraternal order of police, said in a statement. “Officers Stratman, Blair and Flinn exemplify what it means to put on the badge and protect and serve the public.”

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Three Fairview Heights policemen awarded for ‘heroic action’."