LITTLE ROCK, AR -- Attorney General Dustin McDaniel recognized law enforcement officers from across the state.
It's the tenth annual Law Enforcement Officers of the Year Award Ceremony.
This year, McDaniel presented the Valor Tribute award to the family of former Trumann police officer Jonathan Schmidt, who died during a traffic stop in April 2011.
A jury convicted Jerry Lard of capital murder.
Schmidt's wife says her husband looked forward to wearing the badge.
"He left a job at a steel mill to become a police officer. Took a huge pay cut. People told him he was crazy but he always wanted to be a police officer to give back. He felt really strongly about that," Andrea Schmidt said.
Surveillance video shows Schmidt protected a fellow officer on the scene.
A Greene County judge sentenced Lard to death.
