39th Annual NAPO Conference
A national boost for
law enforcement
New York shines a bright light on NAPO Conference
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
n PHOTOS BY AMBER RAMUNDO
Cell phone cameras flashed almost in rhythm, creating
a light show along Fifth Avenue in New York on this Sunday
morning in July. Bystanders – fans if you will – stretched to
get a glimpse of the impromptu parade shuttling law enforce-
ment officers from across the country attending the 39th an-
nual National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO)
Conference to a special mass offered for them at the famed
Saint Patrick’s Cathedral.
NAPO coming to New York City for its annual conference
proffered an opportunity to showcase law enforcement’s
presence in the national arena. President Trump and Vice
President Mike Pence were invited and strongly considered
attending until scheduling wouldn’t allow. NJ State PBA Pres-
ident Pat Colligan and State PBA Trustee Charlie Schwartz
joined Executive Vice President and NAPO Sergeant-at-Arms
Marc Kovar among more than 150 delegates to a conference
that served to advance the rights and interest of America’s law
enforcement officers.
The event that came to
the Westin New York at
Times Square Hotel July
23-25 followed the Sunday
morning parade by opening
its first session welcoming
Jessica Parque, whose hus-
band, Detective Chad Wil-
liam Parque of the North Las
Vegas Police Department,
was the first officer to be lost
in the line of duty in the U.S.
in 2017.
Rousing applause thun-
dered then and often as the
agenda advocated for NAPO’s 240,000-plus members nation-
wide, including: a presentation on the current state of terror-
ism from John Miller, the man who interviewed Osama bin
Laden, a seminar with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Fire-
arms and Explosives about partnering with state and local law
enforcement to fight crime; and an appearance by Dana Peri-
no, press secretary for President George W. Bush.
The conference culminated with a trip to the Freedom Tow-
er and exclusive access to the 9/11 Museum, where NAPO
President Mick McHale, a Jersey City native, showed a beam
from one of the towers that his brother, a retired Port Author-
ity Officer, help