On Tuesday, July 24, 2012, at 2:30 p.m., St. Petersburg Chief of Police Charles “Chuck” Harmon will meet with Joseph Occhipinti, the Founder and Executive Director of the National Police Defense Foundation in the 3rd Floor Conference Room of police headquarters, 1300 First Avenue North, St. Petersburg, Florida.
Mr. Occhipinti will present a check for $10,000 to Chief Harmon on behalf of the citizen who provided crucial information in the investigation of the death of Officer David Crawford on February 21, 2011.
This check represents the final part of the $100,000 reward fund set up at the time of Officer Crawford’s death.
The identity of the recipient of the reward monies remains confidential.
The National Police Defense Foundation provided this reward as part of their “Safe Cop” program. This program is a congressionally recognized law enforcement initiative that posts up to a $10,000 reward for public information leading to the arrest and conviction of any person who shoots at a law enforcement officer, anywhere in the United States.
The NPDF has seen a serious increase of armed assaults nationwide on police that have resulted in the unfortunate deaths of many dedicated law enforcement officials.
The “Safe Cop” criteria for reward payment mandates a conviction for the armed assault of a law enforcement officer and a prosecutor’s certification that the public information was instrumental in the arrest and conviction of the defendant.
The Safe Cop program was established in 1995 and has been instrumental in the arrest of several suspects involved in police related shooting.
The St. Petersburg Police Department considers all information from the community a valuable resource for our investigations. This information is especially valuable in major cases when time is critical.
Several partner agencies supported our need for information by generously offering reward money for significant information. Our department works with these partner agencies who have posted rewards and provides information to them about the person providing the key tip information.
In this case, we recommended one person to be recognized as providing the information which directly led to the arrest of the suspect. The suspect, Nicholas Lindsey, was arrested, charged and convicted for the crime.
The partner agencies in the reward fund are listed below. We would like to thank Executive Director Occhipinti and all the agencies involved for their generous support of our investigation.
<– Download PDF of Press Release Here
| Federal Bureau of Investigation | $50,000 |
| US Marshals Service | $10,000 |
| National Police Defense Foundation | $10,000 |
| Florida Department of Law Enforcement | $10,000 |
| Florida State Fraternal Order of Police | $10,000 |
| City of St. Petersburg | $10,000 |
| Total | $100,000 |
Contact:
Joseph Occhipinti, Founder and Executive Director
National Police Defense Foundation
21 Kilmer Drive
Building 2 Suite F
Morganville, New Jersey 07751
1-888-SAFE-COP
www.npdf1.org
Information by Bill Proffitt on Monday July 23,2012 at 9:30 a.m.
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