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Decorated officer retires after 24 years Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli After recovering from open-heart surgery, Jackson County sheriff's Sgt. Dick Allen is retiring with a handful of accolades, including some of the highest honors given to a police officer. By SARAH LEMON Mail Tribune Dick Allen has received an Oregon police officer's highest honor and came home from Vietnam with a Silver Star. But the Jackson County sheriff's sergeant is perhaps best known in the Rogue Valley for racing a tricycle against 5-year-olds. Allen is retiring from 24 years of service with the sheriff's office at the end of the month. He leaves with the sheriff's office medal of valor and the Oregon Peace Officers Association medal of honor for heroism for dragging a fallen deputy to safety. But Allen's community-oriented career is summed up in a photo that appeared in the Mail Tribune earlier this year, he said. Photographers captured Allen legs akimbo struggling to pedal a tricycle in a race against 5-year-olds Anne Googe and Jennifer Worden at the Rogue Family Center in White City. To enter the race, participants contributed cans of food to the February fund-raiser for ACCESS. Head of the sheriff's office Community Action Team stationed in White City, Allen said the photo illustrates how he feels about law enforcement - officers can make a difference through "community policing." "You have to have a different mind-set," Allen said. "It's not always putting the bad guys in jail. It's about finding solutions to problems." Deputies under Allen's command have learned to delve into issues facing White City residents by working with the numerous social service agencies housed at the Rogue Family Center, also home to the sheriff's office substation in White City. "He just really jumped in and got involved with all the community things we have out here," said Terri Baldridge, office manager of the sheriff's White City substation. "He made sure every deputy had a tricycle to race the kids." A sergeant since 1988, Allen developed his first relationships with Jackson County residents in 1979 as a resident deputy in Applegate. He worked out of his home and received calls round the clock. He later developed the sheriff's office field training evaluation program for new officers. The program became a model for other local agencies, Allen said. On Dec. 5, 1989, Allen's world forever changed when one of his deputies was shot while trying to arrest a parole violator suspected of armed robbery who had holed up in an Ashland bed and breakfast. Allen pulled deputy Rich Rullamas from a stairway, where he had fallen, to a waiting ambulance. Allen and Rullamas received the sheriff's office highest honor - the medal of valor for heroism. Both also received the medal of honor from the Oregon Police Officers Association. But both had lasting scars from the experience. Every Dec. 5, the two colleagues phoned to congratulate each other on their "anniversary." It wasn't until 1997 that they forgot to call. Allen calls the rescue the most critical episode in his years as a police officer, but he's no novice when it comes to heroic deeds. While serving in Vietnam, Allen charged across 50 meters of open terrain near Chu Lai and - with a hand grenade - destroyed a machine gun that was raining lead on his platoon. He received the Silver Star for gallantry in action. A few months earlier, he had received the Army Commendation for valorous acts near Duc Pho where he ran through a hail of enemy fire, assaulted the enemy position and killed three Vietnamese soldiers. After he came back home a war hero, Allen began his 31-year career in law enforcement at the San Mateo Police Department. He signed on with the sheriff's office in May 1978. Those who have known Sgt. Allen throughout his career are invited to a retirement dinner Friday at 6:30 p.m. at the Rogue Valley Country Club ballroom, 2660 Hillcrest Road, Medford. For more information, call 774-8614. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.