Nation's Top Cops include Sayre

"He's just an outstanding officer," Eberling said.

Sayre has worked for Grapevine since 2006. He was part of a three-officer group who shot and killed escaped convict Alberto Morales in February 2013. Morales, serving 30 years for sexual assault, had fled days before from officers conducting a prisoner transfer.

Eberling said Morales stabbed one of the two detectives in his transport detail with a broken eyeglass earpiece in order to escape, and had been on the run for days when residents of an area near Lake Grapevine reported a nighttime break-in at their home.

Sayre and the two other officers who were also honored as Top Cops were among the officers who responded to the scene of the break-in, and they tracked the suspect into the woods.

Eberling said the group ended up within 15 feet of Morales when he appeared from behind a tree and refused to follow orders from the officers.

Morales rushed the officers, and the officers fired on him, killing him, Eberling said.

Along with the three honorees from Texas, other award winners included officers from Alabama, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Ohio.