Milwakee Hero Cop Named AMW All-Star Finalist

Officer Vidal Colon of the City of Milwaukee Police Department has been named a finalist in the 2010 AMW All-Star Contest, sponsored by Sprint.

On April 11, 2009, Officer Colon responded to a domestic situation and encountered a suspect – armed, dangerous and attempting to flee the scene in a sport utility vehicle. As a group of officers closed in on the vehicle, the chase quickly turned into a foot pursuit, with Officer Colon leading the charge. As they ran through normally quiet backyards, Officer Colon yelled at the suspect to drop his weapon. He did, but not for long. As Officer Colon holstered his gun to take the suspect into custody, the perpetrator grabbed his gun off the ground and began firing. Officer Colon was hit three times in the abdomen, but was able to return fire -- until his gun jammed. Both men were injured, but survived the shootout.

As a result of his actions during this high-stakes incident, Officer Colon was awarded the Purple Valor Award and the Medal of Honor Award from the City of Milwaukee Police Department.

Officer Colon is the seventh of eight weekly finalists to be chosen by the public in this year’s AMW All-Star Contest. Any member of the public can nominate and vote for their favorite first-responder online. The nomination process is simple: Go to AMW.com to fill out a short form naming your top choice and explain what makes this person an All-Star.

Each weekly finalist will be profiled on America's Most Wanted (Saturdays, 9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT on FOX). Through online votes, the public will choose the grand-prize winner. In May, AMW Host John Walsh will present the 2010 AMW All-Star winner with a check for $10,000 at the NASCAR SPRINT Cup Series™ All-Star Challenge at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Nominations are open at AMW.com until noon (ET) on April 3, 2010. Members of the public may vote for their favorite first responder once a day, every day. Finalist voting runs through April 11^th and the grand-prize winner voting will run April 15^th-May 3^rd. Please visit www.amw.com/allStar for more information.