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Members of the Boston College Police Department took part in a special event this month that honored some of the area’s most exceptional athletes and their families.
Eight BCPD officers and two civilian volunteers joined fellow law enforcement representatives from across the state for the fourth annual “Cruiser Convoy” to provide an exciting and colorful kickoff – along with a giant helping of heartfelt support - to athletes in the Massachusetts Special Olympics competition on June 18.
“Every officer who participated left the event humbled,” said Patrol Officer Jeffrey Postell, who helped to organize the department’s role in the convoy event. “We have never been so personally rewarded as we were that day.”
Three BC cruisers joined the convoy of more than 80 law enforcement vehicles that converged on the Allston athletic fields of Harvard University from the west, north and south – all arriving with lights flashing and sirens wailing, to the delight of the athletes and their families just as the day’s competitive events were starting.
The police officers, representing departments from Pittsfield to Provincetown as well as a number of campus and special service forces, spent the day with the athletes and their families, cheering them on in their competitions and presenting medals, certificates of achievement and small gifts to those who participated in the various athletic events.
In addition to BC’s police contingent, the “McGruff the Crime Dog” mascot made an appearance at the event – joining the costumed mascots of several local sports teams to provide another highlight for the athletes and their families.
Postell said that the Boston College Bookstore provided dozens of BC water bottles, rally beads and wigs, and other merchandise to be given to participants; the BC Athletics department chipped in pom-poms, headbands and football game tickets as additional prizes.
“We have a commitment to our community,” Postell explained. “Nothing speaks more of a community policy than an active involvement with community partners and programs such as Special Olympics. That’s what community policing is all about – establishing a positive relationship – and this is a group that really needs that positive relationship.”
Postell, who joined the BC Police Department in 2009 after working on a small town force in his native North Carolina, has long been active in Special Olympics activities and is an advocate of community outreach programs involving law enforcement officials.
When he brought information about this event to BC Director of Public Safety/Chief of Police John King, "he was 100 percent on board with it,” Postell added. “A lot of our officers were interested in it too, which does not surprise me, because that’s the quality of officers that we have here at Boston College. We have officers that really care about this community – not just the BC community, but the entire community as a whole,” he said.
In addition to the “Cruiser Convoy,” more than 200 police officers and cadets from across Massachusetts took part in the final leg of the “Flame of Hope” torch run from BC’s Alumni Stadium to the Special Olympics’ opening ceremonies held at Boston University.
“Boston College should be proud,” Postell said. “We have a lot of good people here.”