By Sergeant Bobby Randazzo

On Tuesday, January 13, 2009, under the care of an armada of Police vessels, the Special Olympics Flame of Hope arrived in Miami Beach. Miami is the first stop, in the United States, for the torch as part of the Global Law Enforcement Torch Run. The Flame of Hope is coming to Miami from Shanghai, China and will travel to New York City, Washington D.C., for the 56th Presidential Inaugural Parade, and Los Angeles. The torch will travel 37,000 miles around the world and through five continents before it eventually end up in Boise, Idaho. The Torch will be used to light the cauldron during the Opening Ceremony of the 2009 Special Olympics Winter World Games that will be held from February 7th through the 13th. The winter games will consist of athletes participating in seven winter sporting events such as Speed Skating, Snowshoeing, Hockey, Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, and Snowboarding.

The City of Sunny Isles Beach’s Marine Unit was asked to join forces with a fleet of police vessels off Miami Beach to provide security and accompany the torch to the United States. Marine assets from all over the county were asked to participate in the event. The torch was handed off to us at the United States Coast Guard Station in Miami Beach. We took the torch out to the Atlantic Ocean and 10th Street in Miami Beach. Once we were staged in a diamond pattern, we handed the torch off to the City of Miami Beach Ocean Rescue Jet Ski and they brought the torch to the shore line. In our armada were resources from the Miami-Dade County Police, Florida Fish and Wildlife, the Miami-Dade Fire Department, the United States Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, the National Park Service and a host of vessels from all our local Municipalities.

The Special Olympics torch run began in 1981 in Wichita, Kansas. The program was later adopted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and has expanded into all 50 United States and to 42 nations around the world. In 2008, more than $34 million dollars was raised for Special Olympics Programs worldwide.