Officers Carry Torch for Special Olympics

Blaring their sirens and belting out music, a parade of law enforcement officials from 13 Ventura County agencies will carry a torch for the Special Olympic Summer Games up the hill to Ventura City Hall next week.

On the steps of City Hall at 8:30 a.m. June 19, local dignitaries will welcome the torch to Ventura with a ceremony.

About 200 officers will carry the torch 79 miles through the county. The torch run--which will end at UCLA’s Drake Stadium for the opening ceremonies of the Southern California Special Olympic Summer Games--is a fund-raiser carried out by law enforcement officers throughout Southern California.

Locally, more than 200 officers have raised money for Ventura County Special Olympics by selling Torch Run T-shirts and participating in Tip-a-Cop events. There, officers act as waiters and waitresses at local restaurants, then donate their tips to the Special Olympics.

Funds raised locally will be used to support a delegation of 65 Special Olympians and their coaches when they compete at the summer games June 20 to 22.