NCPD Officer Kelly Coughlin and the ‘Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run’ [Q&A]

New Canaan Police Officer Kelly Coughlin is a longtime supporter of the Special Olympics, and in recent years she’s arranged for the New Canaan Police Department to participate in a popular fundraiser for the organization, the Law Enforcement Torch Run. We put some questions to Coughlin about the event itself, scheduled for May 31, as well as additional ways that locals can support the Special Olympics. Here’s our exchange. ***

New Canaanite: What is the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run? Officer Kelly Coughlin: The Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run first started in 1981 as a way for law enforcement to become active in the community and to support the Special Olympics cause by carrying the Flame of Hope, hence the Torch Run name, through communities in every state.

New Canaan Police and Fire Team Up To Rescue ‘Roscoe’ the Cat, Reunite Him with Local Family

New Canaan’s emergency responders teamed up Sunday to rescue a cat and return him to his home. At about 8:22 a.m. on March 3, New Canaan Police Officer Kelly Coughlin was called to the lobby of the department’s temporary headquarters downtown on a report of a found cat, according to an incident report obtained by NewCanaanite.com through a public records request. There, Coughlin learned that town resident Gail Hart turned in an orange cat that had become stuck up a tree in the area of Mariomi Road near Hickok Road, according to the report. Members of the New Canaan Fire Department rescued the animal, which Hart thought might be hers since she’s missing an orange cat, the report said. But it wasn’t—the rescued cat was “long, bigger than average and looked well taken care of,” Coughlin said in the report.

‘They Handled the Whole Thing So Effortlessly’: Letters of Appreciation for NCPD

Police Chief John DiFederico shared the following letters of appreciation for New Canaan Police Department officers at the March 13 Police Commission meeting. ***

Officers Owen Ochs and Nick Agoglia

“Last Wednesday, Feb. 8, I was walking my dog down Stoneleigh Road, and a young, exuberant Rhodesian Ridgeback came bounding at me. He had a collar with a phone number, but it was obscured by a kerchief. He obviously wanted to play with my leashed dog, who was half his size, but I couldn’t trust that he was friendly and did not feel it was safe to reach for him.