The Nominations for 1998 are closed!  Please call NAPO if you would like to make a nomination for 1999, have questions, or need more information.  Thank you!  (202) 842-4420

April 14, 1998
 
PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR TOP COPS AWARDS® NOMINATIONS - DEADLINE MAY 15, 1998

The deadline for nominations for the Fifth Annual TOP COPS Awards® is fast approaching. For nominations to be considered, they must be received by May 15, 1998.  All nominees will receive a Certificate of Nomination suitable for framing.

Nominations are reviewed by an independent Awards Committee.  One winning case/incident from each state, the District of Columbia and U.S. Territories is chosen -- from among those selections, ten are singled out to receive the TOP COPS Award®, while the remaining individuals are presented with Honorable Mention awards.

The TOP COPS® are flown to Washington, DC for the prestigious ceremony, and all nominees and Honorable Mention award winners are invited to attend.  All those attending the ceremony will be recognized.

The ceremony will take place on October 8, 1998 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC.  The TOP COPS Awards®, sponsored by the National Association of Police Organizations, is the largest and oldest national ceremony of its kind recognizing Federal, State and local officers from across the country.

Please find a nomination form enclosed.  If you should have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact the NAPO office.

BILL WOULD REQUIRE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO STUDY TRAFFIC STOPS AND SEARCHES BY STATE AND LOCAL POLICE

The House of Representatives has passed a bill, introduced by Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) designed to discourage law enforcement officers from using race as a key factor in making traffic stops and searching vehicles.

If passed into law, the bill would require the Justice Department to study the type, number and rationale behind routine traffic stops and searches by state and local police and report its findings to Congress within two years of the bill's enactment.

Representative Conyers argues that, while blacks make up 14 percent of the population, they account for 72 percent of all drivers pulled over in routine traffic stops.

This report will not be able to be used in discrimination lawsuits thanks to Judiciary Committee action that took place in March.

"CARE FOR POLICE SURVIVORS ACT" ASSIGNED BILL NUMBER

As NAPO reported to you earlier, the "Care for Police Survivors Act" would make two important amendments to the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Act.  The Crime Subcommittee marked up the bill on March 26, 1998, prior to its having been assigned a bill number, which has since been assigned - H.R. 3565.  If passed into law, the bill would authorize the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to use funds from the Public Safety Officers' Benefits program "to maintain and enhance
national peer support and counseling programs to assist families of public safety officers who have died in the line of duty."  The bill would also address the current backlog of cases left pending by the Public Safety Officers' Benefits Office, by authorizing PSOB funds to hire outside hearing officers.

In support of the Concerns of Police Survivors and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, NAPO met with congressional leaders on the hill to stress the need for this legislation.

NAPO SUPPORTS DEPARTMENT OF LABOR PROPOSED OSHA STANDARDS TO PROTECT WORKERS FROM EXPOSURE TO TUBERCULOSIS

Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman stated that more than 130 lives would be saved annually under proposed new Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards to protect workers exposed to tuberculosis.  OSHA's proposed standards would protect an estimated 5.3 million American workers, including law enforcement and correctional officers working in high-risk environments to tuberculosis infections.  It is also estimated that the proposed standard would prevent 70% to 90% of work-related infections.

Tuberculosis is a contagious disease that can be transmitted by an infected person through coughing, sneezing or even speaking.

Detractors of the proposed guidelines cite costs, which are estimated to run $245 million annually or $2,400 per employer/establishment ($1,600 per small business establishment).  NAPO argues that a price tag cannot be placed on potential infection or death caused by tuberculosis for those serving their communities.

NAPO has urged the Department of Labor for expedient and enforceable action under the proposed guidelines to ensure a safe and healthy working environment for law enforcement and correctional officers.  For more information, please contact OSHA's Health Compliance Office at (202) 219-8036 or www.osha.gov.

"THE CORRECTIONS OFFICERS HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT OF 1997"

"The Corrections Officers Health and Safety Act of 1997," H.R. 2070, was introduced by Representative Gerald Solomon (R-NY) to amend Title 18, United States Code, to require the mandatory testing for serious transmissible diseases of incarcerated persons whose bodily fluids come into contact with corrections personnel in Federal correctional facilities.

NAPO urged the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime, Representative Bill McCollum, to expand the application regarding the potential personnel threatened by such transmissible diseases to include all public safety officers.

NAPO represents both rank and file law enforcement and correctional officers.  We are equally concerned with the safety of all of our members, from the initial point of arrest through the duration of incarceration.

PLANNED LAPD WEB SITE RAISES PRIVACY, SECURITY QUESTIONS
>From Crime Control Digest - April 3, 1998

A plan to give the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) more of a human face by posting some officers' pictures on its Internet site is drawing fire from two dozen cops and their union.

Critics say the proposed Web site would invade the officers' privacy and make them easier targets for attack.  But department officials argue the pictures of community relations officers would help residents get to know the officers who serve them.  "It's in the department's interest to put this information out there and publicize the department," police Commissioner Gerald Chaleff said during a meeting March 24th to discuss the site with the union and top brass -- including Chief Bernard Parks.

Los Angeles Police Protective League [a NAPO member organization] attorney Hank Hernandez showed 14 pages he downloaded from a now-defunct Web site showing what someone can do with cops' pictures.  "This is not a joke!" the site read.  "I am offering a $1,000.05 reward to the first person who brings to justice, or kill's (sic), a cop making an illegal
arrest, or illegal detention.  $2,000.10 reward if it's an LAPD cop…No justice, No Peace."  It included some graphics stolen from the Protective League's own Web site.  Hernandez said the issue boils down to consent.  About 24 officers have voiced concern over having their pictures available on the Internet, which in January had an estimated 50 million users, he said.  "I think they should accommodate those officers who have safety and privacy concerns," Hernandez said.  "Those photos will be
permanently on the Internet.  If an officer says, 'ok, fine,' then they assume the risks."

The planned, 80-page LAPD Web site won't be online for another three months.  Cmdr. David Kalish, who heads LAPD's Community Relations Unit, said photographs, names and a map showing each officer's area of responsibility will be posted.  But no personal information on the 168 senior officers in the unit's 18 divisions will be on the Net, he said.  Those officers are paid $3,000 more each year for community relations work.  "If they refuse to have their photos on the Web, they should elect
not to serve as a senior lead officer," Kalish said.

He added that photographs of the already high-visibility officers can be found both off and on the Internet because their pictures are often published by the news media.  "These officers are talking on television, they have their pictures in the newspaper and newspapers are now online," Kalish said.  "We are looking at a balance between the officers' privacy rights and the public's concern and right to know their neighborhood cop."

The dispute is believed to be the first of its kind.  Hernandez said the police union -- for now -- is urging members to comply and have their pictures taken for inclusion on the Web to avoid allegations of insubordination.

"This could apply to any police department," Hernandez said.  "The Internet is highly unregulated, and we know a lot of crime is being committed on it because it is highly anonymous.  Some officers believe they'll be jeopardizing safety."  "The brass felt the issue was trivial, that officers had no right to refuse."

All the parties plan to meet again before the LAPD's Web site launch date to see whether an agreement on the issue can be reached.  Hernandez said the union was not afraid to file suit to halt posting of officers' photographs.

Hernandez said that he has no dispute with putting pictures of officers who, for example, win the medal of valor, because they give their consent.  But just as no undercover officers would have their pictures posted, those who have concerns also should have their wishes respected.  Clifford Weiss, Police Commission executive director, said Commissioner Chaleff is in favor of the Web site "but recognizes some other issues are involved.  We will have another discussion in the future.  The city attorney also will have input."

BUDZYN/NEVERS UPDATE

On March 19, 1998, former Detroit Police Officer Walter Budzyn was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in his retrial regarding the death of black motorist Malice Green.  Budzyn's lawyers plan to appeal.  You may remember that Detroit Police Officers Larry Nevers and Walter Budzyn were charged criminally after Malice Green, a drug suspect, died after fighting with the officers.  The Malice Green case received national media attention, including a profile on the CBS program "60 Minutes" and called attention to the racial tension prevalent in Detroit.

Involuntary manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.  A jury of eight whites, three blacks and an Asian deliberated for 22 1/2 hours over five days before convicting Walter Budzyn.  Sentencing is scheduled for April 17, 1998; although several of those involved anticipate that the judge might sentence Budzyn to time already served.

The state Supreme Court threw out Budzyn's previous conviction for which he had served 4 1/2 years of an eight to 18-year sentence largely because the mostly black jury had been shown the film "Malcolm X" during a deliberation break.

In 1993, Larry Nevers was convicted by a separate jury and was released in December after a federal judge overturned the verdict.  State prosecutors are currently appealing that decision.

NAPO's National Law Enforcement Officers' Rights Center filed briefs on behalf of the officers during their earlier trials.
 
NAPO NOTICES

- The American Federation of Railroad Police is requesting assistance from fellow NAPO members for Amtrak Police Officer Stephen Burkowski.  Diagnosed with prostate cancer last year, Burkowski hoped he'd be one of those who fall into the 95% success rate category following radiation therapy -- he wasn't.  In January of this year, the highly decorated officer of 29 years and Vietnam veteran was told that the cancer had spread to his bones, and that it was terminal.  One month later, he was medically disqualified from service with the Amtrak Police Department and filed his papers with the Railroad Retirement Board.  That's when he learned that he may not live long enough to collect his first check.  The 53-year-old officer was told that it could take up to six months to begin collecting a disability pension, and regrettably, his doctors can not guarantee he has that much time.  "I have paid into a combination of both Social Security and Railroad Retirement for 36 years.  Must the last few months of my life be spent practically homeless?" said Burkowski.  The American Federation of Railroad Police has set up a fund to help defray the financial burden of medical and related expenses:  The Officer Stephen Burkowski Fund, c/o The American Federation of Railroad Police, 310 Thunder Circle, Bensalem, PA 19020.  Our thoughts are with Stephen and his family.

- Nominations are now being accepted at the NAPO office for the Annual Pete Lawer Award to be presented at the Annual Convention, July 29-August 2, 1998 in Portland, Oregon.  The Pete Lawer Award is presented annually to NAPO members who have shown outstanding dedication to law enforcement and NAPO during the preceding year.  For more information, contact the NAPO office.

- Richard Weiler, Director of the Police Officers Labor Council of Michigan and Chairman of NAPO's Constitution and Bylaws Committee, has requested that any member organization who wishes to present proposed bylaw changes submit such request in writing to the NAPO office by June 15, 1998, in order for the proposed change to be considered during the Annual Convention.  The request should be on the presenting organization's letterhead, and should state the bylaw's current language, the proposed language and the justification for the proposed by-law change.

- REMINDER:  A BLOCK OF ROOMS HAS BEEN RESERVED FOR THE NAPO CONVENTION UNTIL JULY 6, 1998, CALL THE RED LION HOTEL/DOUBLETREE (800) 222-8733.  THE 20TH ANNUAL CONVENTION IS JULY 29-AUGUST 2, 1998 IN PORTLAND, OREGON.