"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

Reaching into the Community - Community Events

 

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Department Volunteers Step Forward for Causes

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

2006 Torch Run

Lighting the Way: 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 Johnson County Torch Run altered its annual route to include a stop at Leawood City Hall for lunch. After this run has concluded, several Leawood officers have traveled to Wichita for the state Special Olympics games. There they help deliver the Johnson/Wyandotte County torch and then stay to award medals to the participants. In all, members of the police department raised nearly $20,000 in 2011, a marked increase from the $7,500 raised for the Special Olympics in 2007.

In addition to joining other agencies in the traditional Torch Run, Leawood Police Officer Shawn Farris and former officer Anne Wagoner established the Pay It Forward Midnight Run in 2009. Held in the Spring to help raise additional funds for Special Olympics, this unique 5K event, which is run along Tomahawk Creek Parkway, drew more than 200 runners and raised $7,700 in 2011.

Leawood was a pioneer in establishing the Run With the Law event, in which local students raise pledges and then run a one-mile course with police officers. The first event Kansas Run With the Law event was held in Leawood in 2010. In 2011 the Leawood event raised $2,400 and has since spread to more than a half dozen different cities.

2005 Polar Plunge

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

Running, however, 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 a hole cut in the ice, a total of 20 department members have taken the plunge at least once for Special Olympics.

In addition, members of the Leawood Police Department have teamed up with the Leawood On The Border restaurant as well as two other Johnson County restaurants for Tip A Cop events, where department members work as servers and cleaning tables with all tips going to Special Olympics, that raised more than $3,400 in 2011.

Taking a page from the old Super Cops charity competitions of the 1980s, Farris and Kevin Cauley created the Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) Summer Games in 2010. This event pits law enforcement representatives against each other in a variety of events, including an obstacle course. In an added turn of events, Special Olympians are on hand pass out the medals to the top finishers. After starting with Johnson County agencies the first year, the 2011 event expanded to welcome entries from across the state of Kansas.


Multiple Sclerosis

Another group that members of the department have supported is the local Multiple Sclerosis Society. Since 1998, various 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 fund raising event that Leawood riders have now raised close to $10,000 for. 

2007 Blood Drive

The gift of life: 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 in June 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. Starting in 2007, our involvement grew to include a second stop in December 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 national 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. 2011 saw the deployment of Paul Day and Jerrod Wilson to assist with the efforts in Reading, KS.

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

Hall of Fame Award Recognizes Officer's Efforts

Shawn Farris has donated hundreds of hours to raising money for Special Olympians in Kansas through the Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) and other fund raising activities. On June 3rd, 2011, his commitment and drive were recognized as he received the Richard LaMunyon Hall of Fame Award during the Kansas Special Olympics Summer Games in Wichita.

The award is named for Wichita Police Chief Richard LaMunyon, who 30 years ago helped to establish the Law Enforcement Torch Run as a fund raising activity for Special Olympics in Kansas and a year later took the idea national. Since that time LaMunyon has traveled all over the world promoting the Law Enforcement Torch Run and law enforcement’s affiliation with Special Olympics.

”It was a great honor to receive this award in front of a few thousand Special Olympics athletes and to have Richard LaMunyon personally present it,” Farris said afterwards. “With that being said, the achievements that have been accredited (to me) are a result of the hard work of numerous other employees, putting our department and city among the tops in participation and fund raising. 

 “Leawood (PD) was fourth in the state last year in fund raising for Special Olympics Kansas and this year we are contending for the top spot as we near twenty-thousand dollars in donations!”

In addition to the Torch Run, which made its annual stop at Leawood City Hall for lunch on May 31st, Leawood PD employees have also participated in a number of side events to help raise funds for our contribution to the Torch Run: the Polar Plunge in January; 3 Tip-A-Cop events; an internal ‘Stache for Cash event; the second annual Run With the Law event for Leawood elementary students and their friends; and the third annual Midnight Run.


City of Leawood