Arkansas Police Officer is 2011's First AMW All-Star Finalist

North Little Rock, Arkansas Police Officer Tommy Norman has been named the first weekly finalist in the 2011 America’s Most Wanted All-Star Contest, sponsored by Sprint.

A patrol officer since 1998, Tommy Norman is referred to as "Officer Friendly" by fellow officers and is well-known in North Little Rock for his community service. Local children know him from the "Back to School" event where he distributes backpacks and sneakers to children in need or as the lead officer for the Star Student Program at local schools. During the holidays he coordinates community programs such as "Shop With a Cop", which he established 5 years ago, and the "Season of Giving" which he created 12 years ago. When Tommy is not patrolling, you can usually find him involved in volunteer work, a fundraiser or helping someone out. As he raises money for the Special Olympics, you can find him participating in the Law Enforcement Torch Run or with Krispy Krème's "Cops on Top" fundraiser.

His supervisors say he builds "lasting relationships" with residents and is a remarkable role model for children; the far-reaching word on the street about Officer Norman even compelled a murder suspect in a neighboring city in 2001 to find Tommy, who then facilitated his surrender.

Recently, Tommy was chosen for the Chief's Award for his ongoing efforts with community outreach programs, mostly done while he is off-duty; his chief says what is remarkable is that Tommy continues to handle as many, and sometimes more, police calls, investigations and arrests, than is expected of him.

Officer Norman is the first 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 2011 AMW All-Star winner with a check for $10,000 at a ceremony in Washington DC and the winner will receive a trip to the NASCAR SPRINT Cup Series™ All-Star Challenge at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Nominations are open at AMW.com until noon (ET) on April 2, 2011. Members of the public may vote for their favorite first responder once a day, every day. Finalist voting runs through midnight April 10^th. Grand-prize winner voting will run April 21^st through May 8^th.

Please visit amw.com/allstar for more information.