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The Washington Report - June 20, 2000


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HONORING AMERICA'S FINEST

SEVENTH ANNUAL TOP COPS® AWARDS

 

You won't want to miss the Seventh Annual TOP COPS Awards®, 7:00 p.m., Saturday, August 5, 2000, at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC. TOP COPS® has graduated from a hotel ballroom seating 350, to one of the capitol city's premiere professional theaters, which holds an audience of 1,800.  We anticipate this year's event to be the best yet and we are excited to roll out the red carpet and welcome you and your guests to a spectacular "Hollywood" show.

 

This event is being held in conjunction with our 22nd Annual Convention, August 3-8, 2000, at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill.  All registered convention delegates and registered guests will receive a ticket to the ceremony and the post reception with celebrities and TOP COPS®.  Individual tickets for those not attending the convention may be purchased at the rate of $25 for the ceremony and $75 for the post reception.  We also encourage our member organizations to become law enforcement sponsors.  Proceeds from the TOP COPS® ceremony support NAPO's work through the National Law Enforcement Officers' Rights Center (NLEORC), the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF), and Concerns for Police Survivors, Inc. (COPS).  For a tax-deductible donation of $3,000 to TOP COPS®, you will receive:

* 10 ceremony tickets in the reserved seating area;

* 10 post reception tickets;

* a full-page advertisement in the program book; and

* A special sponsor award for display in your office. 

 

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 2000 TOP COPS®.  In each remaining state, one case has been selected for which the officer(s) will receive an Honorable Mention award.

 

The Masters of Ceremony for the prestigious event are Richard Belzer of NBC's Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and Lynne Russell, a Fulton County (GA) Reserve Deputy Sheriff and anchor of CNN's Headline News.  Barring any schedule changes, celebrity presenters include; Bill Brochtrup and Kim Delaney of ABC's NYPD Blue; Bobby Cannavale and Anthony Ruivivar of NBC's Third Watch; Steven Hill, Jesse Martin and Jerry Orbach of NBC's Law & Order; Michelle Hurd and Christopher Meloni of NBC's Law & Order:  Special Victims Unit; Ed Marinaro of NBC's Hill Street Blues; Yaphet Kotto of NBC's Homicide:  Life on the Street; and Mark Ruffalo of UPN's The Beat.  Many other television celebrities are still confirming.  Also expected are several members of Congress and the Administration. 

REDUCED AIRFARE AND HOTEL ACCOMODATIONS FOR 22nd ANNUAL CONVENTION AND SEVENTH ANNUAL TOP COPS AWARDS® AVAILABLE

 

HOTEL

  A block of hotel rooms has been reserved at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.  Call (800) 233-1234 or (202) 737-1234 and mention that you are attending the NAPO event, code "NAOR" to receive your guaranteed room rate of $135 per night, single or double.  The hotel cutoff date is July 3rd.  Any reservations made after that date will be accepted on an availability basis only.

 

AIR TRAVEL

Continental Airlines, the official and exclusive TOP COPS® airline, will provide a substantial discount on airfare for those attending the TOP COPS Awards® Ceremony.  This can also be used in conjunction with our 22nd Annual Convention.  Please call Continental MeetingWorks at 1-800-468-7022 and provide the reservations agent with the TOP COPS® Reference Number: JWMYP1 and Z Code: ZC7M.  This offer is valid for travel between July 30 and August 11, 2000 and guarantees that all fares will be no more than $250 per person round trip (not including tax and airport fees).

 

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE UPCOMING CONVENTION

The 22nd Annual Convention of the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) is sure to be one of our most exciting!  Of critical importance is NAPO's endorsement of a presidential candidate. 

As mentioned earlier, convention attendees will be attending the Seventh Annual TOP COPS Awards® ceremony and post reception on Saturday, August 5th at the Warner Theatre.  Additionally, there will be a terrific comedian at the annual comedy workshop, a wreath laying ceremony, tour and reception at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial, and a fabulous send-off luncheon.  Other exciting surprise events are in the works.  More information will be sent to you shortly.

Have you registered for the 22nd Annual Convention?  If not, please call the NAPO office today for a registration form (800) 322-NAPO.

 

ANNUAL PETE LAWER AWARD

Written nominations are now being accepted for the Annual Pete Lawer Award to be presented at the 22nd Annual Convention, August 3-8, 2000 in Washington, DC.  The Pete Lawer Award is presented annually to a NAPO member (or members) who have shown outstanding dedication to law enforcement and NAPO during the preceding year.  For more information, contact the NAPO office at (800) 322-NAPO.

 

NAPO LOBBIES FOR MUSEUM

NAPO has been actively lobbying for S. 1438 and H.R. 2710.  If passed into law, these bills would establish the National Law Enforcement Museum on Federal land in the District of Columbia.  Under this legislation, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) would be responsible for building and operating the museum.  No federal dollars are being proposed to establish this museum.  The facility will serve as the most comprehensive law enforcement museum found anywhere in the world.  In addition, it will include a research repository, which will make it the premiere source of information on issues related to law enforcement history and safety.  A principle goal of the museum will be to create a better understanding and appreciation of the law enforcement mission. 

NAPO is striving to have the museum built in close proximity to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.  The NLEOMF has conducted an extensive site survey and determined that the site specified in S. 1438 and H.R. 2710 (400 block of E Street, NW, directly across from the Memorial) is an ideal location. 

We urge you to write your members of Congress today and encourage them to support this important legislation!

 

BULLETPROOF VEST BILL

PASSED OUT OF HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE

On June 15, 2000 the House Subcommittee on Crime of the House Judiciary Committee marked up H.R 4033, the 'Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Act of 2000.'  H.R.4033, passed out of the Subcommittee on Crime with an amendment that allowed grants to be used for the purchase of stab-proof vests for correction officers.  The bill now resides in the House Judiciary Committee. 

H.R. 4033 is an extension of the current Bulletproof Vest Program, which passed in June of 1998.  The new legislation would reauthorize the old program through fiscal year 2004 and would double the funding for the program from $25 million to $50 million each year.  The vest bill was introduced March 20, 2000, by Congressmen Peter Visclosky (D-IN) and Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) who had introduced the original bill.  Currently, H.R. 4033 has 249 cosponsors.

 

1999 TOP COP SEEKS ASSISTANCE

Sergeant James McMullin, a 1999 NAPO TOP COP and Chairman of the Chicago Police Sergeants' Association, seeks information from the NAPO membership regarding a Federal "Haz-Mat" program.  His department is currently involved in a Federal program called the "Critical Incident Response Program."  It involves Haz-Mat training for police, fire and various other city service departments. 

Once trained, those assigned to the program are required to respond to all Level III Haz-Mat incidents, a duty for which they did not volunteer and are not compensated.  Sergeant McMullin is trying to find out if other departments throughout the country compensate their members who are in this type of program.  If you have any information that could assist Sergeant McMullin, please write to him at the Chicago Police Sergeants' Association, 3637 South Halsted, Chicago, IL 60609.

 

HAVE YOU VISITED US LATELY?

NAPO's web site, www.napo.org, is a great place to access NAPO news instantly.  Our web site has been getting as many as 1,000 hits a week!  At www.napo.org, you can find information on our upcoming seminars, convention and TOP COPS Awards®.  Read the stories of the 2000 TOP COPS® or browse the many links provided by NAPO. Is your organization on our links page?  If not, and you would like to be added, please e-mail us at napo@erols.com.  Also, please provide a reciprocal link to NAPO from your site!

 

NAPO'S NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS' RIGHTS CENTER THANKED FOR WORK ON BRIEF

 

The National Law Enforcement Officers' Rights Center (NLEORC) has been extremely busy over the course of 1999-2000.  Recently, Devallis Rutledge, Attorney at Law with Manning & Marder, Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez in Irvine, CA wrote the NLEORC to thank us and compliment us on our efforts in the U.S. Supreme Court case Butts v. McNally.  NAPO collaborated on an amicus brief with Mr. Rutledge's firm, seeking to reverse a decision, which holds the police civilly liable to defendants for improper questioning in violation of Miranda.  "It is a pleasure to be associated with "can do" professionals in the service of the men and women who protect our public safety," wrote Mr. Rutledge.

 

SAVINGS FOR NAPO MEMBERS

 

beOutdoors.com and its management team are strong supporters of the brave men and women who risk their lives daily as law enforcement officers.  To show support and thanks, they have offered NAPO members an additional 5% discount from their already discounted prices on all of their items that can be purchased at beOutdoors.com.

 

beOutdoors.com wrote to us that they are one of the Internet's premier retail sites for outdoor recreation gear.  They have over 22,000 boating, camping, fishing, hunting and shooting sports products (they do not sell firearms or ammunition) at low prices and next-day shipping capability.  Every product that they sell is backed by a 30-day return policy.  The web site also offers five-day weather forecasts for anywhere in the United States and tips on outdoor adventures.  To receive the 5% Law Enforcement Community Discount, enter 10201 in the Group Code box when registering at beOutdoors.com.  This discount is merely their way of saying "thanks" to our members and asks nothing in return.

NAPO DATES TO REMEMBER

 

August 5, 2000
Seventh Annual
TOP COPS Awards®
Warner Theatre
Washington D.C.

August 3-8, 2000
22nd Annual
NAPO convention
Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill
Washington D.C.

Feburary 4-8, 2001
NAPO's 13th Annual
Public Safety Pension &
Benefits Seminar
Harrah's Casino & Hotel
Las Vegas, NV


August 8-13, 2001

23rd Annual
NAPO Convention
Hyatt Regency Monterey Resort and Conference Center
Monterey, California

 


May 9-13, 2001

NAPO's Legal Rights &
Legislative Seminar
Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill
Washington D.C.

 

 
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