By Allan Lengel
ticklethewire.com
Members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in the Washington Field Office will be among those honored by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) at a ceremony in D.C. on Sept. 24.
The ADL, a Jewish organization that works closely with law enforcement on hate crimes and terrorism issues, is presenting the honors at its ADL SHIELD Awards, which are given to “heroes who have protected our nation and communities from hate crimes and terrorist threats.”
“The Award gives us an opportunity to publicly recognize and express our appreciation to those who protect our nation and communities and who guard our lives and freedoms,” Elise Jarvis, ADL’s Associate Director for Law Enforcement Outreach, said in a statement.
The winners were selected by 20 law enforcement executives which includes the Chiefs of Police and other top law enforcement officials from metropolitan, state and federal law enforcement agencies in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.
The 2012 ADL SHIELD Award recipients will include:
- The FBI Washington Field Office Joint Terrorism Task Force and partner agencies for the investigation and prosecution of Yonathan Melaku, who was responsible for a series of shootings at military installations in Northern Virginia in 2010, which included: the National Museum of the Marine Corps (twice), the Pentagon, and Marine Corps and Coast Guard recruiting centers
- The Drug Enforcement Administration and federal prosecutors for the arrest and prosecution of Viktor Bout, who is also known as the “Merchant of Death,” and was considered one of the world’s most notorious arms traffickers and terrorist facilitators
- The Montgomery County Police Department and Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for the investigation and prosecution into a hate crimes case involving a series of tire-slashing vandalisms that targeted members of the Latino community, spanning a 4 year period, with 22 victims, and over 100 separate cases documented for investigation
- The Baltimore Joint Terrorism Task Force for accomplishments which include the disruption of a terrorist plot to attack Washington, DC and foiling an attempt to bomb a U.S. Armed Forces recruiting center in Maryland
- The Raleigh-Durham Joint Terrorism Task Force and federal prosecutors for the investigation and prosecution of Daniel Patrick Boyd and his co-conspirators, a homegrown violent extremist group which made plans to wage jihad overseas and in the U.S.
