FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: May 07, 2007 David Turner, (202) 307-9075 Nina Kunkel or Jill Sizelove, (202) 842-4420   U.S. MARSHAL NAMED “TOP COP” BY NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POLICE ORGANIZATIONS FOX’S AMW JOHN WALSH TO HOST MAY 12TH AWARDS CEREMONY IN WASHINGTON, DC   Washington, DC – The United States Marshal Service is pleased to announce that U.S. Marshal Peter Elliott, Northern District of Ohio, has been selected as a TOP COPS Award winner by the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO). The award will be presented at the Warner Theater in Washington, DC, on Saturday, May 12, during NAPO’s 14th annual awards ceremony. Marshal Elliott, 45, created Fugitive Safe Surrender, a new law enforcement concept in which individuals sought by the courts are permitted to surrender at non-traditional, safe venues during specific short-term operations. This innovative and non-violent initiative has proved highly successful in three cities across the nation. Fugitive Safe Surrender reduces the risk to law enforcement officers who pursue fugitives, to the neighborhoods in which they hide, and to the fugitives themselves. To date, nearly 3,000 fugitives have peacefully and voluntarily surrendered. “His high-quality work and enormous effort,” said NAPO officials “go above and beyond the call of duty.” “For each fugitive who peacefully and voluntarily surrenders, law enforcement and residents face one less dangerous confrontation on the streets,” said Elliott. “Desperate people commit desperate acts, sometimes with tragic consequences. I saw too many of my brothers and sisters in law enforcement, and innocent bystanders, killed by the senseless actions of those wanted and on the run. I started Fugitive Safe Surrender to take the desperateness out of the situation, to make it safer for our law enforcement officers, our residents and neighborhoods, and to build a new trust between law enforcement and the community.” Master of Ceremonies for the 2007 TOP COPS Awards® is John Walsh; host of Fox’s America’s Most Wanted. The celebrity award presenters include: television’s Richard Belzer from NBC’s Law & Order; SVU, and Milena Govich from Law & Order; NFL’s Hall-of-Famer Jim Brown; correspondent Beth Karas from Court TV; Liza Lapira from CBS’s NCIS; Jack McGee of FX’s Rescue Me; Jeremy Ratchford of CBS’s Cold Case; Rex Linn from CBS’s CSI: Miami; and actor Chris Bauer. The TOP COPS Awards® pay tribute to law enforcement officers for outstanding service to their communities. The TOP COPS® were nominated by fellow officers, and selected from hundreds of nominations by an independent Awards Committee. Twenty officers from the top 10 cases of 2007 were chosen as the 2007 NAPO TOP COPS®. NAPO, a national law enforcement group, represents 238,000 sworn law enforcement officers from 2,000 police associations and units across the country. ATTENTION MEDIA: Marshal Elliott will be available for interviews on Saturday, May 12, at the Warner Theatre before the ceremony. Please contact: David Turner (202) 307-9075; Nina Kunkel or Jill Sizelove at (202) 842-4420.