Story by Maj. Stephen Martin, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="207"]
238th Officer Candidate and Kentucky State Police Detective Cassandra Mullins received the Kentucky State Police Citation for Bravery in Frankfort, Ky., May 14th. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Major Tim Mullins)
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- 238th Officer Candidate and Kentucky State Police Detective Cassandra Mullins received the Kentucky State Police Citation for Bravery in Frankfort, Ky., May 14, 2014.
In October of 2010, Mullins responded to a crisis and saved the life of a hostage being held in the Allen community of Floyd County (see the full citation below).
To see more photos of Cassandra Mullins, please click HERE.
Mullins is also pursuing her commission as a National Guard officer through the Officer Candidate School at the 238th Regimental Training Institute at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Greenville, Ky.
"I have been able to watch Mullins leadership abilities grow over the past seven months while I have been her commander," said Maj. Bobbie Mayes, Commander of the 238th RTI OCS. "After reading about OC Mullins and her background in the deep hollers of Eastern Kentucky, she has always had her eye on doing something that will make a difference. I have no doubt she will make a great army officer because she is already a stand-up police officer and an all around great person."
Growing up in Eastern Kentucky, it had never occurred to Mullins to be a police officer. The police that she knew, including her elementary school basketball coach who was also a Kentucky State trooper, were all men. It wasn't until she was in college at Eastern Kentucky University and started working at the Lexington Herald-Leader newspaper that she came in contact with female police officers.
"Those women, who worked hard, had a unique opportunity to really make a difference in the communities around them," says Mullins. "They dealt with human emotions everyday and helped people through their worst moments. I knew I wanted a profession that tested who I was and I found it."
Mullins graduated from the Kentucky State Police Academy in June 2009 and was assigned as a road trooper to the Pikeville Post, which has a reputation for being one of the busiest and roughest state police posts in Kentucky. Here, she talked people out of suicide and watched others shoot themselves in the head. She's chased murderers, picked bodies off the roadway after wrecks and taken severely battered women to domestic violence shelters. She's been afraid and has cried for children she's met and for people in situations she couldn't change - no matter how much she cared or tried. Over the years, she's survived calls by good training and according to her, the 'grace of God.'
More than anything, Mullins feels she has helped people through all these interactions.Today, she is a detective assigned to the Kentucky State Police Electronic Crime Branch.
"I love policing and I wouldn't change a moment in my life that has led me to where I am today," comments Mullins. "However, I believe that to continue growing as a person, to continue getting stronger and better you must constantly challenge yourself."
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="378"]
238th Officer Candidate and Kentucky State Police Detective Cassandra Mullins conducts land navigation training at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Greenville, Ky. as part of her professional development in the OCS program. Mullins received the Kentucky State Police Citation for Bravery in Frankfort, Ky., May 14th. (photo submitted)
"I joined the Kentucky Army National Guard on September 13, 2012, two days after the 11th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America. People ask me why I joined the military. The answer is simple really. I want to be an officer in the Kentucky National Guard to challenge myself and to become a better version of me."
"I joined because my grandfather and my father served. They are amazing people; the kinds of people you grow up wanting to be. I joined so that one day I could look back on my life and say that I did something. I joined because I love my country and I love Kentucky, and I understand that there are things in this world more important than my life."
Cassandra's got a lot in common with her husband, Tim Mullins who serves as both an officer in the Kentucky State Police as well as a Sgt Major in the Kentucky National Guard.
Tim couldn't be prouder of his wife for all her accomplishments.
"I am very proud of Cassandra for receiving the KSP Citation for Bravery. It doesn't surprise me, she is a remarkably brave and hard working person and will always excel at anything she does. I am sure she will be very successful in her careers in the Kentucky State Police and the Kentucky National Guard. Both organizations are lucky to have such a dedicated person."
CITATION:
“The KSP Citation for Bravery is presented to Detective Cassandra J. Mullins as a result of an October 2010 incident in the Allen community of Floyd County. As a road trooper, Mullins responded to a report of a woman being held against her. When Trooper Mullins knocked on the door of the residence, she was confronted by a male subject armed with a shotgun. She then drew her own weapon and began issuing verbal commands for the subject to put the gun down. Observing the subject moving his finger to the trigger of the shotgun, she fired one shot from her service weapon, striking the subject in the chest. After ensuring the safety of the female being held hostage, she provided first aid to the wounded subject and summoned EMS.
For her courageous and decisive actions to preserve her own life and that of a hostage, made without regard for her personal safety, in a situation that clearly posed an imminent, deadly threat, the Detective Mullins is awarded the Citation for Bravery. Trooper Mullins is a 5 year veteran of the agency.”