photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Members of the Lawrence Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff's Office participate in the Special Olympics Torch Run on May 28, 2024, near Baker University in Baldwin City.

Members of Lawrence and Douglas County law enforcement ran throughout the county on Tuesday as part of the Annual Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run.

Runners from multiple agencies, including the Lawrence Police Department, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the University of Kansas and Baldwin City police departments, carried the Flame of Hope in several places around Douglas County in anticipation of the opening ceremony of the Kansas Special Olympics Summer Games at Maize South High School in Maize from May 31 through June 2.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run connects officers with the community to support Special Olympics Kansas, which provides opportunities for individuals with intellectual disabilities to compete in athletic events, according to a release from the Lawrence Police Department.

Runners began at the Lawrence Police Department headquarters before making their way to the University of Kansas, and the run then moved on to Eudora and Baldwin City. In total, the runners covered about 5.5 miles; they were bused from location to location to carry the torch through each community, said George Diepenbrock, spokesperson with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.

The run concluded outside of Ottawa, where the torch was passed off to the Ottawa Police Department for the Franklin County leg of the torch run, Diepenbrock said.

For more information about Special Olympics Kansas or to get involved, visit soks.org.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Members of the Lawrence Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office participate in the Special Olympics Torch Run on May 28, 2024, near Baker University in Baldwin City.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Members of the Lawrence Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office participate in the Special Olympics Torch Run on May 28, 2024, near Baker University in Baldwin City.

(from left):
Cpl. Kacey Wiltz, LPD; Cpl. Dean Kemppainen, LPD; Officer Bailey Salsbury, LPD; Officer Daniel Affalter II, LPD; Brady Tanner, Special Olympian; Officer James Browning, LPD; Officer Tyler Stephenson, Baldwin City Police Department, with the Flame of Hope; Skyler McMillin, Special Olympic Athlete; Detective Nathan Haig, LPD; George Diepenbrock, Public Information Officer, DGSO; Chief Mike Pattrick, Baldwin City Police Department; Rebecca Sudja, reentry case manager, DGSO; Sgt. Brad Owen, Baldwin City Police Department.