Orange County Sheriff's Office

Spearheaded by the long-time advocacy and hard work of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation and the Chicago Park District organized the first Special Olympics Summer Games for people with intellectual disabilities in July 1968. Approximately 1,000 athletes participated. Five million people now participate annually in competitions across the globe. In fact, three athletes from North Carolina returned earlier this month from the Winter Games in Turin, Italy.

Special Olympics North Carolina (SONC) is one of the largest Special Olympics programs in the world, providing more than 40,000 athletes year-round opportunities to participate, train, and compete in more than two dozen sports. In May, the SONC will hold the Summer Games at venues in Cary, Holly Springs, and Raleigh, with over 1,300 competitors.

Registered athletes participate in Special Olympics free of charge. They do not pay for uniforms, awards, facility usage, transportation, or training fees. Many fundraising efforts make participation possible, and I want to highlight the important contribution of law enforcement officers, starting with the well-known Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR).

The LETR began in 1981 when six police officers in Wichita, Kansas raised $300.00 carrying what is now known as the Flame of Hope. Three years later, the International Chiefs of Police endorsed Special Olympics as their official charity. Law enforcement officers from federal, state, county, local, tribal, and military agencies have since raised more than one billion dollars, all while increasing awareness of the capabilities and achievements of participants. I participated in the torch run three times earlier in my career.

Today, the Law Enforcement Torch Run is nearly as synonymous with Special Olympics as cookie sales are with Girl Scouts. Locally, our torch run raises money primarily through T-shirt sales. Officials will announce the date for this year’s local event soon.

I recently read an article by Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Captain Ernest Bille, who attended the International LETR conference in November 2024. In it, he discussed the Special Olympic Athletes’ Oath which participants recite before every competition: “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

Within its simplicity, a law enforcement officer can find profound meaning and draw analogies between the principles of competition and the ideals and values of our profession. Captain Bille began by defining what winning means to a deputy or officer. We strive to return home safely after each shift while also behaving with integrity, serving with courage, treating others with professionalism, and protecting our communities.

He then examined the “But if I cannot win…” portion of the oath, which hints at the challenges law enforcement professionals face. We encounter persistent societal issues. Routinely, we face the dark and grim realities of violence, mental illness, death, and addiction. As Captain Bille notes, “…we establish and hold the line – we don’t cross it,” no matter the level of frustration, the challenging actions of others, or our frequent inability to fix the entrenched problems of those who seek our help. Even when we cannot achieve our desired outcome, we can still “win” by behaving ethically.

In the oath’s conclusion, “…let me be brave in the attempt,” we hear a plea for the strength to approach our duties with the same idealism that originally called us to service. Noble intentions can waver when battered by stress, emotional strain, and the risk of injury or death. I have written previously about the toll critical incidents take on deputies. Most people have two or three such exposures in a lifetime; law enforcement officers have 18 PER YEAR. We see a tremendous amount of trauma in our work. It takes courage to put oneself out there again and again without developing a jaded perspective or a calloused heart.

Athletes with intellectual disabilities demonstrate optimism and perseverance despite numerous challenges. In our own way, law enforcement professionals do the same. Captain Bille seems to suggest these parallels explain why we are so passionate about fundraising for Special Olympians: we are inspired by their resiliency and salute their courage.

In Orange County, we also participate in other Special Olympic fundraising efforts. In April, we have a seven-person team competing at RDU Airport in a Pull the Plane competition. Which agency’s team can move a 50,000-pound plane 25 feet in the shortest time? In October, we hold a golf tournament, and there are rumors about a polar plunge next winter.

Please watch for these opportunities to support Special Olympians or go to sonc.net to donate. Thank you.

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