This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Crime & Safety

Police Run San Pablo Avenue Tuesday in Support of Special Olympics

El Cerrito police took the torch hand-off at the city border from the Albany police team in the Torch Run benefit.

Cheerfully braving a run on a hot Spare the Air Day, local law enforcement officers Tuesday joined in the Northern California Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics.

Escorted by police vehicles from Albany and Berkeley and surrounded by a contingent of runners from Albany Police Department, Josh Windbush, a 23-year-old Special Olympics athlete, carried the torch along San Pablo Avenue to the border with El Cerrito. There, members of the Albany and El Cerrito teams greeted one another and shook hands, pausing briefly for a joint picture with a Torch Run banner, before Windbush and the El Cerrito team continued down San Pablo Avenue. The El Cerrito runners, who included Police Chief Sylvia Moir, paused again outside City Hall before continuing the run along San Pablo Avenue through town.

The Torch Run was started in 1981 by the police chief of Wichita, Kansas, and was soon adopted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Police officers escort the “Flame of Hope” to Special Olympics events like the Northern California Summer Games this coming weekend on the UC Davis campus.

Find out what's happening in El Cerritowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The goal of the run is to support Special Olympics programs through fundraising and public awareness. Over time police agencies have developed spinoff fundraisers like the event, staged this past June 12 in Martinez, in which El Cerrito police played a key role. El Cerrito also has had Tip-A-Cop fundraisers in recent years in which officers serve as waiters, collecting tips for Special Olympics.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.