KENTUCKY As a former member of the Morehead Police Department, Kentucky State Trooper Paul Thomas was compelled by instinct to leave his stationary speed enforcement position and join the envoy of Morehead cruisers he saw rushing past on January 28, 2025. Armed with pertinent details from State Police dispatchers, Thomas arrived at a hostage situation. He took the lead in approaching the home with a Morehead officer. Upon hearing pleas for help inside, they breached the door and found a bloodied woman restrained by a man with a knife at her throat. Thomas discharged two rounds from his service weapon, killing the man. The victim recovered from her injuries. (NAPO/Jenifer Morris Photography)
Illinois On May 29, 2025, Chicago Police Officers Andrew Paulauskas and Oscar Asilis, members of the elite 2563 Tactical Team, came across a man conducting a drug deal who promptly attempted to flee. As they were subduing him, the suspect pulled a gun from his waistband, fired at point-blank range and struck Paulauskas in his upper left thigh. Asilis immediately discharged his service weapon, striking the offender. He and other officers rendered aid to Paulauskas and rushed him to the nearest hospital. The prompt treatment enabled Paulauskas to be discharged the next day, walking out of the hospital on his own. (NAPO/Jenifer Morris Photography)- Illinois Chicago Police Field Training Officer Timothy Bell was working with Officer Juan Alba-Chavez, who had clocked just six shifts since graduating from the Academy, when they responded to a domestic dispute call on December 7, 2025. As the duo ran to break up a violent altercation between two males, the perpetrator shot the 18-year-old with whom he was fighting, as well as Alba-Chavez in his ballistic vest. Bell returned fire, striking the suspect — the first time he had ever used his service weapon. Undeterred, Alba-Chavez jumped to aid his partner in separating the wounded teenager from the shooter. None of the injuries were life-threatening. (NAPO/Jenifer Morris Photography)
- MASSACHUSETTS On March 1, 2025, off-duty Boston Police Officer Jose Valenzuela and his wife stopped by a busy fast-food restaurant, and Valenzuela went inside to order. Within minutes, two terrified teenagers ran inside with blood visible on their clothing. When a knife-wielding man entered the scene, Valenzuela attempted to de-escalate the situation and ordered the man to drop the weapon. However, when the assailant raised the knife and moved toward Valenzuela, the officer discharged his off-duty weapon. The suspect did not survive the incident; the injured teen healed and no one else was hurt. (NAPO/Jenifer Morris Photography)
- MICHIGAN Coming across a vehicle with a mostly blown-out rear window on June 30, 2025, prompted Berrien County Sheriff’s Deputy Cal Landon to run the plates, which revealed the owner had a lengthy rap sheet in neighboring Indiana. When Landon asked to see his ID, the driver took off running. Landon pursued, threatening to use his Taser. When ordered to put his hands up, the individual raised one hand and dropped to his knees, but in the other hand, he pulled a gun. Landon instantly switched to his duty weapon as the suspect fired off two rounds, missing him. Landon returned fire, hitting and killing the man. (NAPO/Jenifer Morris Photography)
- Nevada With little time to devise a coordinated strategy while responding to an active shooter at a gym full of patrons on May 16, 2025, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officers Skeeter Black, Aaron Javier and Kaid Urban faced the situation head-on. Through tinted glass doors, they located the shooter. Javier was the first to fire, but missed the suspect, who ran out of the building. Urban and Black immediately fired shots, striking him down. Despite lifesaving measures by the officers and paramedics, the shooter died from his injuries, as did a gym employee who apparently was the shooter’s target. No one else incurred major injuries. (NAPO/Jenifer Morris Photography)
- Nevada On May 18, 2025, a concerned father called 9-1-1 to report that his mentally disturbed adult son was armed in an apartment with his wife and two small children. As Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officers Marcos Fitzpatrick, Travis Noone and Jimmy Sarkissian-Sarnani arrived, they heard a woman yelling and then two gunshots. After a battering ram provided the officers entry, the suspect took his own life. They found the woman with two gunshot wounds to her torso, as well as an infant and a young boy, both unhurt. While Fitzpatrick and Noone rendered medical aid to the mother, Sarkissian-Sarnani took the children to await family members. Fitzpatrick, a father, personally purchased diapers, food and toys for the family. The mother survived her injuries. (NAPO/Jenifer Morris Photography)
- New York On December 19, 2025, a domestic violence call turned dangerous for several Rochester Police Department officers. Officers Jaylon Taylor and Christopher Shingleton were first on the scene, where the suspect ambushed them, firing at least six shots. A bullet hit Taylor in his left arm before lodging in his ballistic vest; Shingleton sustained multiple shots to his abdomen. As they were rushed to the hospital, Shingleton provided a description of the shooter and the direction in which he was heading. Officer Jake Goodenbury confronted the suspect a few blocks away and the man opened fire, striking Goodenbury in his right arm before the bullet lodged in his chest. Officer Nicole Amatore engaged the shooter from behind a tree, hitting him multiple times and killing him. All officers recovered from their injuries. (NAPO/Jenifer Morris Photography)
- PENNSYLVANIA On October 8, 2025, Pennsylvania State Police Troopers Lucas Amarose, Brendan Dixon and Thomas Pack spotted a van believed to be involved with a retail theft. The driver ignored their attempt to stop him, and a pursuit began. Another trooper deployed spike strips, which disabled the van. After two women left the vehicle, the driver opened fire from inside it, continuing to shoot as he exited and moved toward the highway. Troopers also began shooting, eventually hitting the suspect, who died at the scene. Two troopers received non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. The suspect had an active warrant and lengthy felony record, and his gun had been reported stolen. (NAPO/Jenifer Morris Photography)
- Texas El Paso Police Officer Amairani Giner had recently returned from National Guard service when she and Officer Mark Perez headed to a domestic violence call on June 1, 2025. A young boy had called 9-1-1 in fear of his father, who had a gun and axe and was fighting with his mother. After ensuring the child was safe with neighbors, the pair approached the home. The father appeared and began shooting, and both cops returned fire from positions of temporary cover. The man was hit multiple times as he tried to run back into the house. Giner realized she had been shot in the right leg and quickly applied her own tourniquet. Fortunately, the bullet only caused tissue damage, preventing more serious injury. (NAPO/Jenifer Morris Photography)
- Special Recognition: California In January 2025, the Palisades and Eaton fires devastated L.A. County communities with terrifying speed and force: 38,000 acres burned, 16,000 structures were leveled, 200,000 citizens were forced to evacuate and 31 lost their lives. But the smoke and flames couldn’t deter the men and women of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles Police Department, who put their lives on the line to lead thousands out of harm’s way in the largest evacuation in county history. They performed daring rescues, arrested scores of looters and worked around the clock even as 19 LAPD members and six LASD deputies lost their own homes to the blazes. LAPD Sergeant Glenn Adams and Officers Brian Espin and Adam Margin joined LASD Deputies Andrew Garza, Greg Gibbons, Jason Gonzalez and Jeff Lohman to accept this special award on behalf of their agencies. (NAPO/Jenifer Morris Photography)
During National Police Week, the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) recognized the heroism of law enforcement officers from across the country at its 33rd annual Top Cops Awards dinner in Washington, D.C., on May 12. Each year, departments nationwide nominate colleagues for actions above and beyond the call of duty during the preceding year, and an independent committee of law enforcement representatives selects finalists from among the hundreds nominated. The top 10 cases are named Top Cops Awards winners, and additional officers receive honorable mentions. This year, NAPO also honored two entire agencies, the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, for their response to the January 2025 wildfires in Pacific Palisades and Altadena.
Congratulations to all the honorees for their exemplary devotion to service!
As seen in the June 2026 issue of American Police Beat magazine.
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