Mr. David L. Harlow was a founding member of the U.S. Marshals Survivors Benefit Fund beginning in May, 2011. He stepped down from the Board in May 2012 when he was promoted to the Senior Executive Service (SES) in the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS.) Following his retirement, he was re-elected as a Director on Board and appointed Secretary in April, 2018.
Mr. Harlow graduated from Western Illinois University where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Law Enforcement Administration.
Mr. Harlow began his Federal law enforcement career in 1983 when he was sworn in as a Deputy U.S. Marshal in the Northern District of Ohio. He made numerous contributions in Northern Ohio, including serving as Commander of Operation FALCON 2007, serving as Deputy Commander of Operation FALCON III, developing Toledo’s first cooperative fugitive apprehension team consisting of multiple law enforcement agencies, and overseeing the development of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force. He rose through the ranks to Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal and transferred in 2007 to the Eastern District of Virginia, Alexandria, VA serving there as Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal until 2008.
In 2008, Mr. Harlow was selected for reassignment to USMS headquarters to establish the Sex Offender Investigations Branch, overseeing the development and deployment of the USMS Sex Offender Apprehension Program. He also oversaw the interagency National Sex Offender Targeting Center and developed the USMS Behavioral Analysis Unit to assist with prioritizing and targeting non-compliant and fugitive sex offenders. In 2011, he was reassigned as the Deputy Assistant Director for Investigations.
In May 2012, Mr. Harlow was promoted to the SES and selected as Assistant Director for Investigations overseeing the fugitive investigations mission. He was quickly promoted to Associate Director for Operations where he served until 2014, managing the Operations Directorate, including Investigative Operations, Judicial Security, Witness Security, Tactical Operations, Prisoner Operations, and the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System.
In 2014, Mr. Harlow was promoted to Deputy Director, the agency’s second in command and senior career employee to ensure accountability and excellence within the agency. On July 26, 2015, he was appointed Acting Director by the Attorney General where he served until his retirement in January 2018. As such, he led the nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency which occupies a uniquely central position in the federal justice system, is the enforcement arm of the federal courts, and is involved in virtually every federal law enforcement initiative. He had oversight of 3,800 Deputy U.S. Marshals and 1,400 administrative staff.
Mr. Harlow received numerous awards including the Attorney General’s Award, Director Awards, and several special act and performance awards.