“I want to catch a fish for my birthday,” a Henrico, Virginia Police Athletic League summer camper said when asked what he wanted for his birthday.
That was great news for Officer Adam Marzullo, a Henrico County PAL officer and the 2026 National PAL Officer of the Year, who is also an avid fisherman. This was a birthday wish he knew he could deliver.
The next day, Marzullo brought his own fishing gear on a Henrico PAL summer camp outing to a state park. The boy’s birthday wish was granted when he landed his first fish, a channel catfish.
“I had a close connection with him for the rest of summer and still do,” Marzullo said. “He’s in the fishing program now and comes on all the trips. It was cool to give him an experience that he had never had before and didn’t have the ability to do on his own.”
A birthday wish becomes a PAL program
Since that first fishing outing, Marzullo has coordinated with PAL summer camp staff to lead three to four pond fishing trips per summer. As the kids gain more experience, he has started taking some of them to a pier to learn about and try saltwater fishing.
Parents appreciate that their kids are fishing, learning a new skill, spending time with Marzullo and not home alone playing video games.
Next, Marzullo wants to take the most experienced summer camp fishing participants on a saltwater fishing charter and “have a catch and cook, to teach them the culinary aspect.”
“Officer Adam,” as he is known to Henrico PAL kids, traces his path to law enforcement in part to a summer camp experience where he met police officers and learned about careers in the profession.
From patrol to PAL
As a kid growing up in Pittsburgh, Marzullo attended Cadet Camp, which was hosted by local law enforcement officers and sheriffs. He believes the camp helped guide him toward a law enforcement career.
Marzullo worked as a patrol officer for seven years before becoming a school resource officer. His work as an SRO introduced him to PAL when he was assigned to represent the department at a PAL summer camp.
PAL is now part of the department’s community policing initiatives.
PAL as proactive crime prevention
“Kids, cops, community and crime prevention,” is how Marzullo describes the program and his involvement.
“I’m currently a full-time PAL officer assigned to PAL,” Marzullo said. “I work with kids every day. I also associate and talk with the families when they come to pick up the kids from after-school programs and summer camp.”
His role is to engage with children, meet them where they are and humanize the badge. It’s important to Marzullo that kids see him as a person and that he understands their lives, needs and challenges.
“To me, it’s one of the truest forms of proactive policing, because we’re attacking the grassroots of crime,” Marzullo said.
The youngest PAL participants don’t always understand that Marzullo and other Henrico officers have lives outside the job. Older kids, however, learn that he has a family and interests beyond policing, making him more approachable and someone they are willing to talk to and learn from.
Kids have told Marzullo they made different choices or avoided trouble because of what they learned through PAL. Hearing them say they “knew not to get involved” validates the impact of the program and shows that PAL is helping kids choose a different path.
National PAL, one of the nation’s oldest youth development organizations, “builds friendships between law enforcement officers and children within the community and is based on the conviction that young people — if reached early enough — can develop strong positive attitudes towards police officers in their journey through life toward the goal of maturity and good citizenship.”
Marzullo received the 2026 National PAL Officer of the Year Award at the National PAL Congressional Reception in May. National PAL recognized Marzullo for his “commitment to mentoring youth, strengthening community relationships, and showing up for young people every single day.”
Marzullo is humble about the national recognition.“It is nice to be recognized and that National PAL sees the impact I have,” he said. “It’s an honor to get the award.”
He said the award helps validate the work he is doing. While he is proud of the recognition, Marzullo finds greater reward in introducing kids to fishing, receiving calls from parents seeking advice on parenting challenges and figuring out how to attend the five PAL student graduation parties he has been invited to this season.
The PAL focus on kids, families and community is a strong motivator for Marzullo. As the department’s PAL officer, he regularly visits with PAL kids at after-school programs, summer camps and athletic leagues.
The Henrico PAL program began in 2007. The 501(c)(3) organization is led by civilian staff, supported by volunteers and police officers, and serves hundreds of kids, regardless of race, religion or financial situation.
Four after-school programs each serve 70 to 100 kids, and more than 100 kids attend summer camp. In addition to sports, camps and after-school programs, Henrico PAL also offers chess, financial literacy, STEM, dance and leadership training.
Building relationships beyond the badge
The Youth Leadership Council is for high school students and meets twice per month. Members learn about leadership, complete community service projects and attend regional and national leadership development conferences. Earlier this year, Marzullo took a Youth Leadership Council group to New York City for a training event.
The time spent traveling and attending events together is especially meaningful for Marzullo because it gives kids a chance to see him outside the usual police-community interactions.
“On the trips, you really get to learn about them on a personal level, and they get to learn about me,” Marzullo said, referring to the drive to New York City and the Region 6 PAL leadership conference. “It strengthens that bond, humanizing the badge as they see me on a different level.”
PAL success, Marzullo believes, starts at the top of the organization.
What other agencies can learn from Henrico PAL
PAL participation gives Henrico officers an opportunity to demonstrate the department’s core values of honor, professionalism, commitment, compassion and accountability.
Marzullo wants other departments to know that PAL programs are an excellent opportunity for kids, families and communities.
“PAL helps with the perception of police officers,” Marzullo said.
According to Marzullo, crime prevention through PAL programming requires an all-in commitment to succeed.
“Right officers, in the right place,” Marzullo said.
PAL and youth work might not be for every officer, and according to Marzullo, that’s OK. But for the right officers, the work offers a chance to have a significant impact on the kids and families in their communities.
Whether it is PAL sports, after-school programs, summer camp or chess, “Kids need these programs more than ever,” Marzullo said.
For more information about PAL, visit nationalpal.org.
| WATCH: From playgrounds to positive futures: Empowering youth through law enforcement partnerships
