National Association of Police Organizations: Washington Report

“SOMETIMES IT SEEMS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT THAT WHEN WE DO THINGS RIGHT, NO ONE REMEMBERS. BUT, WHEN WE DO THINGS WRONG, NO ONE FORGETS…TONIGHT, WE REMEMBER.”

-Special Agent Blake L. Boteler

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (CO)

By all accounts, NAPO’s Seventh Annual TOP COPS Awards® ceremony was truly an event to remember and the above quote from the Colorado TOP COP® reminds us all exactly what TOP COPS® is all about. The ceremony took place at the historic Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, August 5 during NAPO’s 22^nd Annual Convention. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to our major corporate sponsors, which include the Philip Morris Companies, Nationwide Retirement Solutions, Continental Airlines and Ulico Insurance Group.

The excitement began as Vice President Gore honored the TOP COPS during an afternoon tribute. That evening, NAPO was pleased to have Attorney General Janet Reno join us as a presenter of the honorable mention awards.

During the ceremony, the stars continued to shine on the NAPO TOP COPS®. Celebrities from NBC’s hit programs, including Law & Order, Law &Order: Special Victims Unit, and Third Watch were on hand to help honor the TOP COPS®. Richard Belzer of NBC’s Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Lynne Russell, a Fulton County (GA) Deputy Sheriff and anchor of CNN’s Headline News, returned for their sixth year in a row as the Masters of Ceremony. Celebrity presenters included Michael Beach, Coby Bell, Bobby Cannavale, Kim Raver, Anthony Ruivivar and Skipp Sudduth of NBC’s “Third Watch”, S. Epatha Merkerson and Jerry Orbach of NBC’s Law & Order, Dann Florek, Mariska Hargitay, Michelle Hurd, and Christopher Meloni of NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Ed Marinaro of NBC’s Hill Street Blues; and Yaphet Kotto of NBC’s Homicide: Life on the Street. Also in attendance were Under Secretary for Enforcement, U.S. Department of the Treasury Jim Johnson, U.S. Customs Service Commissioner Ray Kelly and former Attorney General Ed Meese.

The 2000 TOP COPS® winners represent some of the nation’s best in police work. and the winners include several officers involved in life-threatening shoot outs; a cybercrime super-sleuth; a trooper involved in a daring rescue in Alaska’s frozen wilderness; an undercover agent with the ATF who cracked one of the nation’s most violent biker gangs; a detective who busted up a large prostitution ring involving young girls; an officer that jumped into an icy river, saving the life of a motorist whose car had gone off a bridge; and an agent with the DEA that cracked a large international drug trafficking operation.

*Photos are enclosed for publication in your newsletter or journal.

NAPO CONVENTION DELEGATES ENDORSE VICE PRESIDENT GORE

Delegates attending NAPO’s 22^nd Annual Convention endorsed Vice President Al Gore for President, voting with a record 87% in favor of the endorsement. The vote followed two presentations made by representatives of both the Republican and Democratic parties. Former Attorney General Edwin Meese addressed the delegate body seeking the endorsement on behalf of Governor George W. Bush, while Senator Joe Biden, Jr. (D-DE) spoke on behalf of Vice President Gore.

“The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) voted overwhelmingly to endorse Vice President Gore, primarily because he has earned it. This endorsement is based on his past performance and his unwavering support of the law enforcement community,” said Thomas J. Scotto, President of both NAPO and the Detectives’ Endowment Association, Inc. of New York City. “Furthermore, at his tribute to our TOP COPS Awards® winners, the Vice President pledged to continue his support for law enforcement officers once he became President,” continued Scotto.

Vice President Gore paid tribute to the TOP COPS Awards® winners on Saturday afternoon, August 5, at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS

The 22^nd Annual Convention of the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) was certainly one of our most exciting! Delegates and their guests were busy in the nation’s Capital. Their activities included a White House tour, a visit to the convention hotel from Vice President Gore, attending the TOP COPS Awards® ceremony and meeting many of the celebrities afterward at the post-ceremony reception. All this in just the first two days, Friday and Saturday! We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Ulico Insurance Group for sponsoring this post-ceremony reception.

A comedy review was scheduled for Sunday night, and our comedian, Jeff Gerbino, flew through some of the fiercest storms this summer to join us. Those in attendance agreed he was well worth the extra hour’s wait.

The storms continued through Monday, putting a damper on the wreath-laying ceremony scheduled that night at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. The ceremony was cancelled, but the NAPO staff quickly made accommodations to hold the reception indoors where delegates were treated to a sixteen-piece big band and a terrific buffet. Those who stayed late into the evening kicked up their heels and danced.

On Tuesday, as the convention concluded, a farewell cocktail reception and luncheon was held with political humorist Patrick Haggerty, who made quite a few interesting observations about the upcoming election. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Schering-Plough for sponsoring this luncheon and cocktail reception.

ANNUAL PETE LAWER AWARD

The winner of this year’s Pete Lawer Award is Ernie George, President of the Florida PBA and the Palm Beach County PBA. This award is given annually to the NAPO member who have shown outstanding dedication to law enforcement and NAPO during the preceding year. Congratulations Ernie!

LONG-TIME NAPO MEMBER SET TO RETIRE

Jim Wurm, President of the St. Louis Police Fraternal Organization, plans to retire at the end of this year. Jim has been a NAPO member since 1979 and has hosted two NAPO conventions in his hometown of St. Louis. Jim received a standing ovation as he was presented a special award during the NAPO convention. We will miss Jim a great deal, but hope that he will not be a stranger and will continue to join us at our events each year.

NAPO’S CONVENTION DELEGATES WARNED OF HIDDEN DANGERS TO LAW ENFORCEMENT

On Tuesday, August 8, physician Spencer Borden, IV, M.D. addressed the NAPO convention delegates on the dangers of Hepatitis C, which is a real threat to law enforcement officers nationwide. The symptoms can go undetected for months, or even years, often making treatment difficult. There are new treatments available.

Dr. Borden also covered some-over-the counter drugs that can have dangerous effects on individuals who are working or driving automobiles. Many common cold and allergy medications contain ingredients that may often include sedatives.

NAPO headquarters is working on educational programs about both of these topics. Stay tuned for more information!

FLSA AND FMLA FOCUS OF RIGHTS CENTER WORKSHOP

On Sunday, August 6, NAPO delegates had the good fortune to ask questions of Michael Ginley, Director of Enforcement, Wage and Hour Division, Department of Labor. There were questions about whether certain practices by police departments violated the Fair Labor Standards Act and the interaction between the Act and collective bargaining agreements. Ginley also talked about the Family and Medical Leave Act. One interesting fact that he spoke of, “If management does not designate an employee’s leave, then an employee may ask for FMLA leave on another occasion during a 12-month period.” To locate a Division office near you, either go on the DOL website, www.dol.gov, or call the NAPO office.

NAPO STAFF THANKS PORAC STAFF MEMBER FOR HER VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION TO TOP COPS® AND CONVENTION

Many of you have had the opportunity to meet Carol Bravo, a long-time employee of the Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC) at various NAPO events throughout the years. When her schedule permits, PORAC often donates her time to helping the NAPO staff at our events throughout the country. This year in particular, Carol deserves a very special thanks for her contribution to NAPO. She was critical to the success of both the TOP COPS Awards® ceremony and the 22^nd Annual Convention. Thank you Carol and PORAC!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

February 4-8, 2001

13^th Annual Public Safety Pension & Benefits Seminar

Harrah’s Casino & Hotel

Las Vegas, NV

May 9-15, 2001

NAPO’s Annual Legal Rights & Legislative Seminar

Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill

Washington, DC

August 8-13, 2001

23rd Annual NAPO Convention

Hyatt Regency Monterey Resort and Conference Center

Monterey, CA

GREAT NEWS

The Wisconsin Professional Police Association (WPPA) has renewed its membership with NAPO. The WPPA represents 6,200 of Wisconsin’s Finest and were enthusiastically welcomed back as active NAPO Members.

CITIZENS’ CHOICE AWARD WINNER

Each year, NAPO’s 100,000 associate members are given the opportunity to vote on their favorite case from the 10 TOP COP® cases. The results of this vote are kept secret until the TOP COPS ® ceremony, and the winner is called the “Citizen’s Choice” award. This year, Police Officer Dennis Devitte was the winner of this prestigious honor. In a moving acceptance speech, Officer Devitte called his colleague who is credited with saving his life, onto the stage. Last year’s winner, Sergeant James McMullin of the Chicago Police Department was also in attendance, having traveled from Chicago to be a part of the ceremony. Officer Devitte’s story appears below.

NEVADA

Police Officer Dennis Devitte

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

Is a TOP COP® ever really off-duty? Not if he’s Las Vegas’ Officer Dennis Devitte. Not long ago, Devitte and several fellow officers were relaxing in a crowded sports bar, when three heavily-armed men burst through the door, announced their intention to rob the place, and began firing into the crowd. When one patron went down seriously wounded, Devitte, the only armed policeman in the bar, sprang into action. Armed with nothing but his small-caliber off duty pistol, he left his cover position and closed in on the main shooter. The would-be robber turned on Devitte and began firing at point blank range. The officer and the criminal stood less than a foot apart, blasting away at each other. As the other two criminals fled, Devitte fell to the floor, riddled with eight gunshot wounds. His attacker made it to the parking lot before he collapsed, mortally wounded. Devitte survived, but endured multiple surgeries to recover from his wounds. His quick thinking and raw courage saved the lives of many people in the crowded bar and epitomizes the characteristics we honor in America’s TOP COPS®.