My husband was a police officer for Omaha Police Dept. and now is a Police Chief of a small town in NE Nebraska. When I told him who had called, he said it is a scam. They never gave any money to his officer, Jason "Tye" Pratt when he was killed on duty. My husband was his Sergeant. Don't give them any money. You would just be throwing it away.
It is N.P.O.A, and they are legit,as Shawn said, but I told them I didn't accept solicitations over the phone, then they berated me for "blaming the police officers." I even asked for a website where I could make donations. They got irritated and hung up, but now they've called me twice since then and hung up right when I answered (they're probably trying to leave some recording). If you don't want them to call you, here is their info line where you can ask to be put on their No Call List: 1-800-396-6535.
Even if these are legit, these third party fund raising firms are known for keeping as much as 70% of what they raise for "administration costs." So no, your money is not going for bullet-proof vests for kids or whatever bs they tell you. Ask them where the biggest street in your town is, and they will have no clue.
Anyway, if your phone service allows you to forward certain numbers, you can have this NE number forward directly to the do-not-call number (800-396-6535). I did, so now when they solicit me, they will just be ringing up their own do-not-call list. I like it as a solution, and I thank DP for tracking down and posting that number.
They have called twice this week, once saying they were from the State Patrol, the 2nd time from the Police Department. I told them I don't buy things over the phone, and the 2nd time I told them to take me off the calling list. The caller was obnoxious and tried to argue with me so I hung up. They then called after 10:00 PM, let the phone ring once and hung up before I could answer and tell them to take me off their calling list. They are very obnoxious!!