US Attorney General Michael Mukasey will present members of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Homicide Cold Case Unit review board with the Citizen Volunteer Service Award on May 30, 2008 at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC. The annual award recognizes citizens who volunteer to assist law enforcement or Department of Justice initiatives.James Zopp, Brendan Battle, Daniel Caylor, Raymond Bowley, Harvey Katowitz and Dr. Vivian Lord make up a volunteer review team who give cold cases a solvability rating. They prepare reports for investigators that detail victimology, a summary of the crime, a summary of evidence recovered at the scene, witness information and statements, potential suspects and related investigations. Members decide how likely the case can be solved if it is reopened. Homicide Cold Case Unit investigators then begin an active investigation.
The review team is made up of four retired FBI Agents, a retired NYPD Captain and the Chairman of the Criminal Justice Department at UNC Charlotte. Since it began, the review team has researched nearly 100 cases. 25 have been cleared and 18 people have been arrested. Team members spend countless hours of their own time to help search out answers for families who have been waiting, sometimes decades, for resolution.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police established the Homicide Cold Case Unit in 2003 when more than 400 cases, dating back to the 1960’s, remained unsolved. CMPD asked the FBI to join them in investigating these cases. Under the Safe Streets Task Force, a partnership of dozens of local law enforcement agencies, the Homicide Cold Case Unit has access to the vast resources of the FBI. The Homicide Cold Case Unit is made up of two CMPD detectives and an FBI Agent.