A veteran state trooper and a relative newcomer to the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office were honored as law enforcement officers of the year Wednesday.

The New Iberia Optimist Club recognized Detective Jeffery Matthews and Trooper Murphy Meyers during a banquet at Little River Inn on Wednesday. The ceremony was during Respect for Law Week.

“I get to see firsthand what these guys do and the fact that they put their lives on the line every day,” said District Attorney Phil Haney. “It’s an honor for me to ... be here when we recognize their accomplishments.”

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Although prosecutors usually have months to prepare a case, Haney said law enforcement officers are forced to make difficult decisions in seconds.

He cited domestic abuse calls and traffic stops as examples.

“Every time there’s a stop, those law enforcement people have to make that judgment call about what they’re going to do,” he said.

“And they don’t know who they’re stopping.”

Matthews joined the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office in 2005 after spending two years with the Jeanerette Police Department.

He is a property crime detective and crime scene technician.

Matthews was among the officers who responded to a mobile home off Neco Town Road after it was struck by a tornado Jan. 4.

He rescued two people from the home and later returned to make sure the residents’ pets had been accounted for.

“(It’s) just the little details of caring for a family who had lost some loved ones,” Sgt. Durand Hebert said. “He cared enough to even get their pets.”

Matthews said he appreciated the award.

“I wasn’t expecting it,” he said. “I was just doing the job I do every day.”

Meyers is a 28-year veteran of law enforcement, including 10 years with Louisiana State Police Troop I and 17 years with the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office.

He has served as an instructor at the Acadiana Law Enforcement Training Academy since 1985.

“He’s from a different generation of law enforcement than many of us,” Sgt. Paul Vankerkhove said. “He relates to the community on a different level than we do and ... takes us back to our roots in law enforcement.”

Meyers said he was grateful for the award. He dedicated it to the other troopers on his shift at Troop I.

“For me to receive this award, it’s not just for me,” he said. “It’s for those other guys that are out there working, that just showed up today to do their jobs.”