FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OJP
THURSDAY, AUGUST 08, 2002????? ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????202-307-0703
NOMINATIONS FOR
HIGHEST PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER?
AWARD DUE
AUGUST 15
WASHINGTON,
D.C. ? Nominations for the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, the highest
national award for valor by a public safety officer, will close Thursday,
August 15, the Justice Department announced today.? The Medal of Valor is authorized by the Public Safety Officer
Medal of Valor Act of 2001 and will be awarded annually by the President to
public safety officers cited by the Attorney General, for extraordinary valor
above and beyond the call of duty.
?So many of our
law enforcement, firefighters, emergency medical personnel and other safety
officers deserve recognition,? said Assistant Attorney General Deborah J.
Daniels of the Office of Justice Programs, which is administering the
program.? ?We want to encourage agencies
to submit nominations of these heroic individuals.?
To be
considered for the 2002 Medal of Valor, public safety officers must be
nominated by the chiefs or directors of their employing agencies for
exceptional acts of valor that occurred between May 31, 2001 and May 31,
2002.? All interested parties should
contact the Department of Justice Response Center, or access the OJP web page,
to receive a nomination form before the final submission deadline.
Medals will be
awarded based on the recommendations of an 11-member review board comprising
representatives of the public safety community and the public, and appointed by
the President, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the U.S. Senate, and the
Speaker and the Minority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Medal
of Valor Act allows the board to recommend a maximum of five recipients
annually.
Additional
information on the award, including the design of the Medal of Valor and the
Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor nomination form, can be accessed from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/ or by
contacting the Department of Justice Response Center at 1-800-421-6770.
?????????? Media should contact OJP?s Office of
Congressional and Public Affairs at 202-307-0703.? ???
# # #
OJP 02227