Since 1998, members of the Leawood Police Department have spent time volun-teering to help others in a large variety of ways.

Bill Burke (with torch) and Mark Hackathorn (right) take a turn leading the 2006 Law Enforcement Torch Run as it wound its way through Johnson County.

Special Olympics

The Kansas Special Olympics have traditionally had a special relationship with local law enforcement officers, particularly through their Law Enforcement Torch Run event. Over the years a number of Leawood officers have pounded the pavement to raise money and carry the torch. In May of 2007 the Torch Run came through Leawood and made a noon time stop at City Hall. Later in the month, our Torch Run coordinator, John Diaz, traveled to Wichita with Shawn Farris and Erik Butler for the state Special Olympics games where they helped deliver the torch and award medals to the participants. In all, members of the police department raised $7,500 for the Special Olympics in 2007, the highest yearly total to date.

The Original Copsicles: Randy Rausch, John Freeman, Shawn Farris and Mark Chudik.

However, running isn’t the only way department members raised funds for the Special Olympics. In February of 2005, Officers Shawn Farris, John Freeman, Mark Chudik and Randy Rausch started a new tradition by participating in the Polar Plunge. After soliciting donations, the four then joined several hundred other hearty souls in making a plunge into the frigid waters of Shawnee Mission Park’s lake. Since that time the size of the “Copsicles” team has only grown. After a 2007 dip in which 10 participants dropped through hole cut in the ice, a total of 16 department members turned out in 2008 and raised an additional $2,800 for the Special Olympics.

Multiple Sclerosis

Another group that members of the department have supported is the local Multiple Sclerosis Society. Since 1998, department members have been involved in finding sponsorships for the MS150, a two-day, 150 mile bike ride across Missouri. Last September Mark Chudik, Ken Whiteside, Dave Jennings and Phil Goff rode in this fundraising event that Leawood riders have now raised close to $10,000 for. 

Officer Randy Rausch gives one of dozens of pints of blood that have been donated by department employees as part of the annual "Battle for Blood" events he has helped to organize.

Community Blood Center

The Community Blood Center each year conducts a “Battle for Blood” pitting metro police and fire departments, and their supporters, in a friendly contest to see who can get the most donations in a week-long period. Since 2006 Officer Randy Rausch has helped coordinate the Johnson County activities for the Battle for Blood. In 2007, this event grew to include a second stop by the center’s Bloodmobile to gather donations from members of the department and other city employees.

Youth Friends

Officer Jason Ahring began mentoring in the Blue Valley School District’s Youth Friend program in 1998 and was followed shortly after by several others.  The program invites adults to spend time each week with their ‘buddy,’ serving as a positive role model for them. In 2002, Ahring was named one of 3 Kindest Kansas Citians by the Stop Violence Coalition after his friend, Ross Campbell, nominated him for his involvement in the program.

Disaster Relief

Leawood Officers’ volunteering isn’t just limited to the local or even metro area. Working in the world community, officers have twice responded to assist with recovery efforts following large scale natural disasters.

In 2005 Hurricane Katrina pounded the Gulf Coast. Six Leawood officers, Shawn Farris, Phil Goff, Jason Ahring, Shane Chambers, Dave Jennings and Robert Mahon volunteered and were dispatched in pairs to assist the Gulfport, MS, Police Department get back on their feet. In May of 2007 a tornado destroyed Greensburg, KS. Officers John Diaz, Doug Brokaw, Kirt Yoder, Chris Rues, David Winders and Jason Hudson volunteered for deployments to Greensburg to provide security during clean-up efforts.

While members of the department are obviously active in groups, there are still other individuals who give their time to Big Brothers/Big Sisters and other worthwhile groups throughout the area.