On
Wednesday, May 28th, the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF)
will be recognized by the State of Ohio’s House of Representatives and
Representative Tom Patton, for its outstanding success in fugitive
apprehension.
Since its creation in June of 2003 by U.S. Marshal Peter J. Elliott, the
NOVFTF has worked collaboratively with law enforcement agencies throughout
the district to arrest violent fugitives at a record pace. In March of this
year, the NOVFTF reached a milestone with the arrest of its 15,000th
fugitive.
On April 1, 2008, the NOVFTF received the United States Marshals Service
Director’s Award for “Distinguished Group for Outstanding Fugitive Task
Force” in recognition of its accomplishments in fugitive apprehension. This
award is the highest honor that the Marshals Service bestows upon its
employees and law enforcement partners. The NOVFTF was the only fugitive
task force selected in the nation. “The NOVFTF has become synonymous with
fugitive apprehension in the Northern District of Ohio, and the future of
the NOVFTF remains bright through the hard work and dedication of its
members,” says Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander.
The NOVFTF is comprised of 200 law enforcement officers from over 60
agencies, and has offices in Cleveland, Lorain, Akron, Toledo and
Youngstown. “The success of this Task Force is driven by the task force
officers and the Deputy Marshals who hunt the streets for these fugitives
daily”, said Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Angel Gonzalez. “It is the
cooperation that we receive from our local colleagues that makes this task
force so successful.”
The Task Force’s wide-reaching grasp has nabbed fugitives across the United
States, as well as in Mexico and Panama, and has tracked fugitives as far as
Israel. The Marshals Service has task forces in 86 of its 94 districts, and
the NOVFTF has consistently been one of the leaders in apprehensions in the
country.
Additional information about the U.S. Marshals can be found at
http://www.usmarshals.gov. |