U.S. Attorney’s Office Recognizes Outstanding Law Enforcement Officers

MIAMI – On Oct. 5 and 11, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida held the 2021-2023 Outstanding Law Enforcement Officer (OLEO) Award Ceremony, in Miami-Dade County and Broward County, respectively.  Approximately 200 award recipients, from various federal, state, and local law enforcement organizations, were recognized for having distinguished themselves by virtue of the work they performed in a criminal prosecution.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida handles some of the most important and impactful cases in the nation. The stellar investigative work by the office’s law enforcement partners, in particular the award nominees, makes it possible for the district’s Assistant U.S. Attorneys to file cases charging the gamut of federal crimes. Collectively, the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecutes human trafficking, narcotics trafficking, civil rights violations and hate crimes, violent crime, illegal firearms offenses, bank robbery, public corruption, environmental crimes, national security threats, the broad landscape of financial fraud that plagues our district, and more.

As U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida stated, “It takes a village to carry out the mission of the U.S. Department of Justice - to uphold the rule of law, to keep our country safe, and to protect civil rights. The office’s prosecutors cannot do their jobs alone.”  The U.S. Attorney’s Office relies on the dedicated men and women in law enforcement who work tirelessly to identify the criminals so that they can be held accountable in a court of law.  The honorees hard work often comes with tremendous personal sacrifice. The award recipients’ commitment to the pursuit of justice is worthy of special recognition. “They are having a direct impact on our quality of life, safety, and security,” said Lapointe.

Law enforcement partnerships and collaboration are invaluable crime-fighting tools.  The honorees represent agencies and departments from across the district that work together to protect and serve the public. Lapointe noted that the South Florida award recipients are “some of our nation’s most talented, effective, and impactful public servants.” 

Honorees were recognized from agencies and departments to include: Biscayne Park Police Department, Boca Raton Police Department, Broward Sheriff’s Office, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), City of Miami Police Department (MPD), FBI, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG), Florida Office of Financial Regulation, Fort Lauderdale Police Department (FLPD), Hialeah Police Department, Homestead Police Department, Hollywood Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Lauderhill Police Department, Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), Miami Gardens Police Department, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Palm Springs Police Department, Sunny Isles Police Department, Sweetwater Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS), U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) and CBP-Office of Intelligence, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG).

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