By: Edir Coronado
The New Providence Police Department participated in the Law Enforcement Torch Run held on June 10th. The event was sparked in 1982 when Offer Steven Vitale was asked to photograph a local Special Olympics competition in New Jersey. Officer Vitale was amazed by the dedication these athletes displayed, so he challenged his fellow officers to show the same type of determination by volunteering at the summer games.
The birth of the Torch Run came in 1984 with a run that began in Liberty State Park in Jersey City to Rutgers Stadium in New Brunswick. The first run raised $7,000.
Since then, with the help of police departments like New Providence, over 3-million dollars is raised annually and over 3,000 officers participate. New Providence took the efforts a bit further this year and involved local high school students in the run.
(above) Patrolman and run coordinator David Rodriguez; Lieutenant. Justine Kennedy; Patrolman. Michael Carlino; Patrolman. Thomas Hoppe; and Intern Jake Vignali led the way in combination with New Providence High School students in the Law Enforcement Torch Run.
