NAPO TOP COPS Awards Presented During National Police Week
By Officer.com News
The National Association of Police Organizations held its 25th Annual TOP COPS Awards Ceremony Monday night.
The TOP COPS Awards, which have been presented each year since 1994, were presented at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. with remarks delivered by U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
An independent Awards Selection Committee compromised of national law enforcement representatives select -- from hundreds of nominations -- one TOP COP case from each of the 50 States and U.S. territories. Officers from the top ten cases are selected as TOP COPS Award Winners.
Sessions spoke to atendees, saying that one of his most important duties is to call attention to the successes of law enforcement, and to encourage citizens to support officer in their difficult and dangerous work.
"What has made times difficult recently for law enforcement is that -- by the end of the previous administration -- many of you came to believe that some of the political leadership of this country had abandoned you," he said. "Some radicals and politicians began to unfairly malign and blame police as a whole for the crimes and unacceptable deeds of a few. Amazing -- their message seemed to be that the police were the problem, not the criminals."
The negative climate against police, Sessions said, has had deadly consequences for the nation's officers.
"We have seen targeted assassinations of police by people who believe that most officers seek to brutalize their fellow citizens," he said. "Let me say this loud and clear: as long as I am the Attorney General of the United States, the Department of Justice will have the back of all honest and honorable law enforcement officers.
"This National Police Week, I want every law enforcement officer in America to know that our nation honors your service. We are grateful for all you do to protect us."
During the awards ceremony, Sessions highlighted the actions of members of the Las Vegas Metro Police Department during that mass shooting on the Las Vegas strip on Oct. 1, 2017 that left 58 people dead and 851 injured after a gunman opened fire from a hotel room during a music festival.
"Officer Charleston Hartfield of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Charlie, or 'Coach Chucky,' as he was known to the kids he coached in football – was off-duty at a country music concert with his wife when he heard gunfire," Sessions said. "What happened next was the deadliest mass shooting in American history."
"Officer Hartfield shielded and protected other concertgoers as they fled to safety. But he did not escape. Officer Hartfield lost his life that night. Charlie Hartfield exemplified what it means to serve in law enforcement. Even when off-duty, his instinct was to run towards danger so that others could run away from it.
"In fact, some of Officer Hartfield’s brothers and sisters in blue are with us here this evening from the Las Vegas Metro PD. And, whether they were on duty or off duty—without thinking of their own safety—they sprang into action that night to save lives. They are true American heroes."
