“Dunk-A-Cop” for Charity Brings Out the Best In Everyone…
By Chief Fred Maas

There they stood. Young, and younger, armed with baseballs to throw at the target and “drop a cop” into the water! What a thrill for the little ones as they gleefully jumped up and down when they successfully dunked their target. There were captains, lieutenants, sergeants, detectives, officers, male and female and I heard even a police chief “took a bath” from the kids.

The heart and soul of this event was the unselfish giving of so many to help the underprivileged. The goal was to make everyone come together and feel good about our Halloween event. The success was measured by the smiles and happy squeals as kids of all ages became Sandy Koufax or Nolan Ryan for a night, and pitched their best for charity. In the end success was also measured by the funds raised to help purchase new toys for the Holiday Season and Christmas for so many displaced and underprivileged children.

I would be remiss if I did not address a few extras about our event. The fact that a retired Lieutenant came back to not only volunteer time but sit in the target zone of the tank said a lot for his devotion and loyalty and dedication even after retirement, to this city and police department. Thanks Rick, seeing you again was a scary Halloween in itself!

And to the civilian who came both nights and help immeasurably run the booth and in so many other ways, thank you Esther, your unselfish and charitable heart says it all.

Finally, to the program coordinators, Sgt. Don Reynolds, Sandra Block, and K-9 Officer Rob Ostrov, who gave so much and so much extra to make the event such a success. And of course I cannot leave out the incredibly good sports, our female officers, who still looked fantastic, even soaking wet and took so much abuse as they “went for a swim”. Officer Erin Kelly, Officer Melissa Montesino, Officer Sassee Morales, you all are above and beyond in my book.

Again, from every child who had a blast to every child who will benefit from this event, I warmly say “thank you” and Happy Holidays to all of you!!!

Your Chief

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