VIEW | Special Olympics: Police take part in law enforcement torch relay

Hot Springs police officers took to the streets Tuesday morning to participate in the 2024 Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Relay. They left the police department about 8 a.m. and walked 4.72 miles to Lakeside High School, 2837 Malvern Ave., culminating in a loop around the school there.

A total of 17 HSPD officers and one K-9, Patriot, participated in the event, which marked the second leg of the four-day run that also included River Valley, Forrest City, Wynne, Hope, Prescott, Jonesboro, Saline County and Clinton , according to the LETR website.

The run began Monday, beginning a journey that will see officials from across the state carry the Flame of Hope torch and meet on the steps of the state Capitol in Little Rock around 9:30 a.m. Thursday to join their flames in a ceremonial lighting of the Final Leg torch.

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The police officers will then embark on the final leg, a 50-mile endurance run to Searcy. Officials will complete the final stage by carrying the Flame of Hope into Harding University Stadium in Searcy, home of the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Games, which will take place Friday and Saturday, the website said.

The law enforcement torch relay “has become one of the most important traditions of the Special Olympics movement,” the website says. “It began in 1981 in Wichita, Kansas, when Police Chief Richard LaMunyon saw an urgent need to raise funds and awareness for the Special Olympics.”

It began in Arkansas in 1987 as a 30-mile race, but is now a four-day relay race covering more than 1,200 miles and 700 runners. The tradition of the Final Leg Torch Run is for law enforcement officers representing their agency, district or state program to serve as “keepers of the flame” and carry the Special Olympics torch, the Flame of Hope, to the opening ceremony.

Officials also participate by presenting awards to athletes in the Summer Games’ eight different sports, including track and field, swimming, powerlifting, bocce ball, tennis and flag football.

Hot Springs Police Department officers and Special Olympics athletes make their way along the 700 block of Malvern Avenue to Lakeside School, 2837 Malvern, Tuesday morning as part of the 2024 Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Relay. (The Sentinel-Record/James Leigh)