Town officials on Wednesday night approved a road closure downtown to bring attention to a unique local effort led by the New Canaan Police Department. The Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run, scheduled for Friday, June 6, “is a great event that’s gone on for a long time to unify law enforcement officers from all over the country with Special Olympics athletes, and it’s a huge fundraiser for Special Olympics, especially in Connecticut,” according to NCPD Officer Kelly Coughlin.
Addressing members of the Police Commission at their regular meeting, Coughlin said, “The Law Enforcement Torch Run involves police officers carrying a literal torch to kick off their Summer Olympics event games, and it’s carried throughout the whole state of Connecticut. We’ve been fortunate the last two years to be able to run through New Canaan with the torch and we will be doing so again this year.”
New Canaan’s leg of the Torch Run starts at the “Pop Up Park” at South Avenue between Elm Street and Morse Court, and runs down South Avenue into neighboring Darien. A longtime supporter of the Special Olympics, Coughlin has arranged for NCPD to participate in the Torch Run in recent years. Launched in 1981 in support the Special Olympics cause by carrying the “Flame of Hope,” the Torch Run happens through communities in every state annually.
