NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POLICE ORGANIZATIONS
HONORS AMERICA'S FINEST
EIGHTH ANNUAL TOP COPS AWARDS®
WASHINGTON, DC - The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) is pleased to present its list of winners and honorable mentions for the Eighth Annual TOP COPS Awards®, announced NAPO Executive Director Robert T. Scully today.
The TOP COPS Awards® pay tribute to law enforcement officers from across the country for outstanding service to their communities during the preceding year. The TOP COPS® were nominated by fellow officers and selected from hundreds of nominations by an Awards Committee. Officers from the top ten cases have been chosen as the 2001 TOP COPS®. In each remaining state, one case has been selected for which the officer(s) will receive an Honorable Mention award. (Please see attached list of winners.)
"The TOP COPS AwardsÒ provide an opportunity for all of us to recognize some of the brave men and women in America's law enforcement community who selflessly put their lives on the line day in and day out," said Scully. "Law enforcement officers care deeply about the citizens and communities they serve, and this honor is one way of letting them know their contributions are not taken for granted."
The Eighth Annual TOP COPS Awards® ceremony will be held at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC on Thursday, October 25, 2001, at 7:00 p.m. Hotel lodging is at the Crowne Plaza Washington, DC.
The Master of Ceremony for this prestigious event is John Walsh, host of Fox's America's Most Wanted. America's Most Wanted will air portions of the 8th Annual TOP COPS Awards® ceremony during one of its Saturday night episodes in November. The ceremony will feature the hit television show's signature reenactments of the TOP COPS® cases, as well as a tribute to the fallen and missing officers of September 11.
Barring any schedule changes, we expect the following celebrity award presenters: Al Roker of NBC's Today Show; Michael Beach, Coby Bell, Amy Carlson, Eddie Cibrian, Kim Raver, Anthony Ruivivar, Skipp Sudduth and Jason Wiles of NBC's Third Watch; Richard Belzer and Dann Florek of NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Yaphet Kotto of NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street. Many other television celebrities are still confirming. Also expected are several members of Congress and the Administration.
The National Association of Police Organizations is a national law enforcement organization representing 220,000 sworn law enforcement officers and 4,000 police unions and associations throughout the country. Based in Washington, DC, NAPO fights for the rights of law enforcement officers through federal legislation, legal advocacy and education. TOP COPS Awards® proceeds will benefit the Police Research and Education Project, NAPO's sister educational organization; the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and Concerns of Police Survivors.
Winners of the 2001 NAPO TOP COPS Awards®
CALIFORNIA
Officer James M. Gantt, Oakland Police Department
FLORIDA
Detectives Eddie Garcia, James McDonnell, and William Sanchez; and Officer Pedro Polo
Miami-Dade Police Department
HAWAII
Detective Earl Koanui, Jr., Honolulu Police Department
LOUISIANA
Lieutenant Jeff Winn, New Orleans Police Department
MARYLAND
Lieutenant Roosevelt Carter, Defense Protective Service Police
MINNESOTA
Officers Michael Blood, Shelby Lane, Billie D. Moir, and Jim Rygg; and Sergeant Scott Kuyper, Edina Police Department
NEW YORK
Detective Mike Zeller, New York City Police Department
TEXAS
Officer Richard B. Perkins, Houston Police Department
WISCONSIN
Deputy Sheriff William D. Kelly, Chippewa County Sheriff's Department
INTERNATIONAL
Senior Special Agent Eric Andreucci and Special Agent Marshall Heeger, U.S. Customs Service Cyber Smuggling Center, Fairfax, VA
Attaché Michael Woodworth, U.S. Customs Service, American Embassy, Moscow
2001 NAPO TOP COPS Awards® Honorable Mentions
ALABAMA - K-9 Officer Andy Sutley, Dothan Police Department
ARKANSAS - Sergeant Greg Lovett, Prairie Grove Police Department
COLORADO - Sergeant Daniel P. O'Shea, Denver Police Department
CONNECTICUT - Officer Bruce J. Rosa, Stamford Police Department
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA - Detective James Trainum, Metropolitan Police Department
DELAWARE - Special Agent Paul D. Gemmato, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Detective Richard D. Iardella, Wilmington Police Department
GEORGIA - Criminal Investigator Jackie Crawford, Tallapoosa Police Department
ILLINOIS - Lieutenant John A. Laskey, Chicago Police Department
INDIANA - Detective Christopher Pugh, Evansville Police Department
KANSAS - Officer Darryl S. Hayes, Westwood Police Department
KENTUCKY - Special Agent Robert M. Young, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms
MASSACHUSETTS - Sergeant Detective Gregory S. Kasabian, Tyngsboro Police Department
MICHIGAN - Officers Rodney Durham and Bradford C. Bullock, Detroit Police Department
MISSISSIPPI - Special Agent Ryan L. Spradlin, U.S. Customs Service
MONTANA - Special Agent John Nielsen, Internal Revenue Service/CID; Senior Special Agent Chuck Mazzilli, U.S. Customs Service; and Special Agent Daniel Horgan, Environmental Protection Agency/CID
NEBRASKA - Investigator Dail Fellin, Nebraska State Patrol
NEW HAMPSHIRE - Officers Ronald J. Welliver and Daniel Donahue, Nashua Police Department
NEVADA - Detectives George Sherwood and Robert Rogers, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
OHIO - Special Agent Peter J. Elliott, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms
PENNSYLVANIA - Investigator Maureen Powers, Sergeant George Reutter and Police Officer Anthony Kisielius, Amtrak Police Department
RHODE ISLAND - Patrolmen Brian T. McNally Sr. and Frank C. Villella, Providence Police Department
SOUTH CAROLINA - Lance Corporal Donald Lee Thompson, South Carolina Highway Patrol
TENNESSEE - Sergeant Evan Ward, Lewis County Sheriff's Department
VIRGINIA - Sergeant Ronald B. Henry, Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries
WASHINGTON - Lieutenant Jim Lundgren, Detectives Larry O. Bowman, Minde Connelly, Ben Estes, Brian Hamond, Marty Hill, and John T. Miller, Spokane Police Department; Lieutenant Doug Silver, Captain John Simmons, Sergeant Cal Walker, and Detectives David Bentley, Rick Grabenstein, Terry Hammer and Fred Ruetsch, Spokane County Sheriff's Office; and Detective Major Bambino, Washington State Patrol
NOTE TO MEDIA: TOP COPS® and Honorable Mentions (not all attending) will be available for print and broadcast interviews prior to the ceremony on Thursday, October 25, 2001. Ceremony, followed by the reception begins at 7:00 pm. Please call Kim Soucy or Jill Cameron at (202) 842-4420.