Thirty-four members of the Santa Rosa Police Department participated in the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics on Tuesday.
The participants ran 5.7 miles from the police department to Mary’s Pizza Shack in Rohnert Park, under police escort, while carrying the Special Olympics torch. Upon arrival, the torch was ceremoniously lit and passed from Santa Rosa Police Chief John Cregan to Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety Chief Tim Mattos and Deputy Chief Aaron Johnson.
After the lighting of the torch, Mattos and Johnson, along with other members of the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, ran with the torch to Petaluma to pass it on to members of the Petaluma Police Department.
The Torch Run is an annual event organized by the Special Olympics Northern California, a nonprofit with a mission to “provide sports, educational, health and athlete leadership programs to Special Olympics athletes.” The event seeks to boost awareness about the Special Olympics and raise funds for the organization. The Santa Rosa department has raised $5,500 for the nonprofit through various events, including the Torch Run and a Polar Plunge, this year.
Law enforcement agencies from throughout Northern California participate, carrying the torch and passing it from one agency to another until it arrives at its final destination, the 2024 Special Olympics Northern California Summer Games. This year the Torch Run started in Siskiyou County on June 17 and will end Friday in Santa Clara County, where the games will take place.
The Torch Run continues through San Francisco, Contra Costa, Merced, San Benito, San Joaquin and Monterey Counties today, followed by San Mateo, Alameda, south Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, before ending in Santa Clara County at Santa Clara University on Friday.