The unthinkable happens: A New York City police officer is wounded by gunfire. The suspect flees into the night. Although this is one of the stark realities of the job, it is reassuring to know that the NYPD has in its arsenal a special weapon to help hunt down the shooter.

This weapon is COP SHOT, the program that offers an automatic, standing $10,000 cash reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone who shoots or shoots at a New York City police officer. The reward program also covers New York State Troopers and Metropolitan Transportation Authority police officers.

One of the pillars of COP SHOT is John S. Provetto, the program's Director of Operations. Within minutes after a shooting, Mr. Provetto is in contact with PBA officials and the NYPD's Office of the Chief of Detectives, making arrangements to dispatch the COP SHOT Informational Vehicle to the scene of the shooting. PBA officials, on- and off-duty officers, and detectives from the Chief of Detectives Office meet up with the Informational Vehicle to distribute leaflets to local residents and post placards on utility poles and in storefronts. At the same time, Mr. Provetto spreads the word about the $10,000 cash reward over the vehicle's public-address system.

To date, COP SHOT has paid 20 rewards, and three are pending. Also, the reward program is responsible for four surrenders.

John Provetto and Cop Shot Information Vehicle

"Going into suspects' neighborhoods with our vehicle generates a tremendous amount of pressure. It raised the heat on suspects in four separate cases, to the point where they turned themselves in," Mr. Provetto said. "Plain and simple, money on the street talks. This is meant to be a bounty on the head of anyone who dares to shoot or even discharge a firearm in the direction of a police officer. An officer does not have to be struck — merely shot at to trigger the reward."

Mr. Provetto added, "With someone who has no misgivings about shooting a police officer who is charged with protecting our communities, what chance does the average citizen have? We have no qualms about calling our $10,000 reward a cash bounty. This reward offers substantial motivation for concerned citizens — even peers and family members of suspects — to come forward with information."

That is precisely what COP SHOT Chairman Edward Arrigoni had in mind when he founded the reward program in 1984 — a time when newspaper headlines screamed with a waves of cop-shootings. In those days Mr. Arrigoni, a long-time PBA supporter who is also Chairman of Bronx-based New York Bus Service (NYBS), was supplying buses to the PBA to transport the men and women in blue to the funerals of their brethren. He wanted to do more.

At the time, cash-for-information rewards in the shootings of officers were sporadic, usually taking effect only after a cop succumbed to his wounds. Mr. Arrigoni believed that an automatic, standing reward would serve not only as a vehicle to apprehend shooters, but more importantly as a proactive way to deter shootings. Thus, he founded COP SHOT, acronym for Citizens Outraged at Police Being Shot.

COP SHOT's success is due largely to its unwavering policy of anonymity.

"When concerned citizens call our toll-free hotline — 1-800-COP-SHOT — they are never asked to provide their names. They are assigned an identification number so they can call periodically, using the ID number, to learn whether their information was helpful. This guarantees anonymity for all callers," explained Mr. Provetto, noting that the hotline is manned around the clock by detectives in the Crime-Stoppers Unit of the Chief of Detectives Office.

While COP SHOT has been instrumental in apprehending suspects and bringing them to justice, the program also serves as an important deterrent. "That's what makes COP SHOT special. It differs from most other cash-for-information programs because of the immeasurable deterrent value of its standing, automatic reward," Mr. Provetto said.

Officials are certain that COP SHOT has prevented many a trigger from being squeezed, which is why the program's cash-bounty message is aggressively publicized. Like an unspoken menace staring would-be shooters in the face at every turn, the COP SHOT message is so widely displayed because of the generosity of Viacom Outdoor — a long-time COP SHOT member that generously donates advertising space valued at $3-5 million a year. Viacom's deep commitment to the program allows COP SHOT's message to blanket the five boroughs on billboards, bus-stop shelters, telephone kiosks and city buses.

The New York Daily News is another member vital to COP SHOT's efforts, providing a free, quarter-page COP SHOT advertisement after every shooting that occurs. The ad, which lists details of the particular shooting and the toll-free hotline, appears multiple times in the newspaper.

"COP SHOT's primary objective is to prevent shootings from happening in the first place," said Mr. Provetto, who also serves as NYBS Director of Operations. "Members like Viacom Outdoor and the Daily News play a major role in making this a reality."

COP SHOT funds are raised through an annually renewable contribution from each of its members. These funds are used solely for reward payouts and printed materials used to deliver the program's outdoor advertising. All other overhead andministrative expenses are provided to COP SHOT free of charge.

Mr. Provetto said he was grateful to PBA President Pat Lynch and the PBA Board, as well as all police officers, the Chief of Detectives Office, DEA President Tom Scotto and all COP SHOT members for their continued support of this valuable program.