Radford Officers Receive Valor Award
Radford City Council, Chief Jerry Holdaway, Deputy Chief Jason Slaughter with Medal of Valor recipients Lt. Evan McManus, Sgt. Jordan Ellis, Officer Jacob Caudell.
By DAVID QUESENBERRY
Patriot Publishing
Three officers of the Radford City Police Department were presented the Award for Valor by the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police for successfully resolving a confrontation with a suspect last spring.
According to Mayor David Horton, at Radford’s city council meeting held Monday, the awards were given on September 1st by the Chief’s Association to 26 officers representing nine agencies.
Referring to the award, Horton said, “This recognizes a law enforcement officer who in the line of duty performs an act of extraordinary heroism while engaged with an adversary at imminent personal risk.”
Three Radford city officers, Lieutenant Evan McManus; Sergeant Jordan Ellis and Officer Jacob Caudell were among the officers that received the Award of Valor at the event.
Chief Jerry Holdaway, accompanied to the podium by Deputy Chief J.L. Slaughter and the three award winning officers, read an account of the incident to Council:
“On April 20, 2026, Lieutenant Evan McManus; Sergeant Jordan Ellis and Officer Jacob Caudell
responded to a residence regarding a report that a roommate had barricaded himself inside while armed with multiple knives. Upon arrival, officers established verbal contact from outside the home and immediately evacuated the roommate to a safe location preventing potential harm to any uninvolved party. Recognizing the volatility of the situation, Sergeant Ellis demonstrated exceptional tactical foresight by deploying his less-lethal shotgun, while Lt. McManus maintained lethal cover.
“The subject, later identified as a mental health consumer in crisis, suddenly emerged from the residence armed with a knife and advanced towards officers in a threatening manner. Despite numerous clear verbal commands, the subject refused to comply and continued to close the distance. In an effort to resolve the encounter without a loss of life, Officer Caudell deployed his taser. The device proved to be ineffective and the subject continued to advance with the knife in his hand. With lethal force legally justified and seconds away from becoming necessary, Sgt. Ellis fired three less-lethal beanbag rounds striking the subject and stopping his forward movement. This decisive action created a critical opportunity for the officers to safely take the individual into custody and insure that he received the immediate mental help he needed.
Historically, incidents of this nature overwhelmingly result in a justified use of deadly force. In most cases, the subject would not have survived this encounter through no fault of the responding officers. But due to the immediacy and severity of the threat, Lt. McManus, Sgt. Ellis and Officer Caudell demonstrated extraordinary restraint, discipline and commitment to preserving life even while facing a subject who was actively threatening to kill them.
This action reflects the high standards of policing through exceptional teamwork, sound judgement and the creative use of less lethal options under extreme pressure. These officers prevented a fatal outcome and insured that a person in crisis received the treatment he so desperately needed.”
“I don’t know that I’ve seen in the 24-plus years that I’ve been here, that we’ve ever had anybody receive the award of valor,” said Chief Holdaway. “But I think that the Virginia Chief’s of Police recognize this as the highest award that any law enforcement officer can receive in Virginia.”