SHPD officers run through state to fund Special Olympics

STERLING HEIGHTS — When it comes to carrying the torch for people who have special needs, Sterling Heights police officers have been taking no shortcuts.

Seven members of the Sterling Heights Police Department recently did just that Sept. 12-16 when they participated in Michigan’s Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics, a multiday relay race that spans both of the state’s peninsulas.

According to Sterling Heights Police Chief Dale Dwojakowski, the Sterling Heights police officers run the relay on behalf of Team Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 118. Dwojakowski explained the general idea behind the race.

“Every year, Sterling Heights puts together a team of runners that head up to Copper Harbor, which is at the top of the Upper Peninsula,” he explained. “They do that over the course of five days. … That run does not stop. It’s a relay race.”

This year, the participating Sterling Heights officers were Lt. David Allen, Capt. Scott Lucas, Sgt. John Carion, Sgt. Eric LeRoux, Officer Andre Basin, Officer Dominic Redman and Officer Max Kretzschmar.

Those officers raced alongside two other police teams. One team represented the Michigan State Police, and another team represented the Michigan Department of Corrections.

Allen said the run is “not a competition,” meaning that all three teams cooperated in the relay, passing the torch from one officer to the next. He said the Sterling officers covered 30 miles at a time, after which, they drove 60 miles to the next destination to rest and grab food.

“Most of our sleep is through naps,” he said. “Maybe a solid three to four hours at best. It’s pretty minimal. Naps were really what we kind of rely on.”

Allen said one of the biggest challenges of doing the run is the endurance aspect. The race course and its estimated 730 miles in length start at Copper Harbor and end at Belle Isle in Detroit. And that route doesn’t shy away from having to run up hills, he explained.

But he said the event has plenty of positives that have kept him and others involved, adding that he has been involved with the torch run for around 17 years.

Allen said proceeds from the run will go to Special Olympics Michigan for its programming. He said that, for the race, his fraternal order team raised “somewhere near $10,000.”

“The camaraderie of it and the cause, raising money for the athletes, is what has me coming back,” Allen said. “It’s a special bond that you get with those (police) teammates.”

Learn more about the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics by visiting letr.org.