June 4, 2024
WALL TOWNSHIP, NJ (MONMOUTH)–The Wall Township Police Department in conjunction with Special Olympics New Jersey would like announce the unveiling of a special patrol car that is dedicated to the hard work that the athletes of Special Olympics put in every day.
The law enforcement community and Special Olympics have a special relationship whereas multiple fundraisers throughout the year provide necessary funds so the athletes of Special Olympics New Jerey may compete free of charge. The Law Enforcement Torch Run Community is dedicated to fundraising all year long thorough local fundraising events in addition to special events such as the Lincoln Tunnel Challenge 5K, the Plane Pull presented by United Airlines, the Adopt-a-Cop campaign, various golf outings, Three Polar Bear plunges, and the Annual Torch Run.
The Annual Torch Run is the heart of the Law Enforcement Torch Run movement. In 1984, the first New Jersey Torch Run was conceived to raise funds and public awareness for the Special Olympics New Jersey program. The course ran from Liberty State Park in Jersey City to Rutgers Stadium in New Brunswick, through eight towns, covering 34 miles and raising $7,000. In each succeeding year, the dollar amount became greater and the number of volunteers increased substantially. Now each year, thousands of officers take to the streets of their local communities on 1 of 26 separate routes to help carry the “Flame of Hope” to the Special Olympics New Jersey Summer Games to light the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony. The 2024 Annual Torch Run is on Friday, June 7th.
The idea behind this vehicle came from Capt. Michael Hurden from the Wall Township Police Department who found that multiple law enforcement agencies in Oklahoma showcase different athletes on their patrol cars for the Law Enforcement Torch Run and wanted to do the same here on one of our vehicles. It was at that time we reached out to Special Olympics New Jersey who were ecstatic to hear we wanted to do a project like this. This is when the planning process started as we have a special connection to one of the Special Olympics athletes. We reached out to a local detailing company, Daylan’s Mobile Detailing, where they worked with their graphic designer at DPi Creative to come up with the graphics for the vehicle and created a great rendering for the vehicle. This is all because of one of our own officers Ptl. James Yannazzone’s brother, Anthony Yannazzone, is an athlete with Special Olympics and we thought he would be the perfect candidate to be showcased on the vehicle. A little background on Anthony who is 34 years old and has Down Syndrome. Anthony has been a Special Olympics athlete for over 15 years and participates in the swimming, basketball, and snow shoeing.
The patrol car will be leading our portion of the Law Enforcement Torch Run from Bentley Diamond, located at 1860 State Hwy 35, Wall Township, to the Belmar/Avon-By-The-Sea boarder. The full run, Run 7, starts at Island Beach State Park in Seaside Park and ends at the Perth Amboy ShopRite. This leg of the run covers over 59.65 miles with over 200 estimated runners participating. Ptl. Yannazzone will take our Law Enforcement Torch Run vehicle to this year’s Special Olympics New Jersey Summer Games at The College of New Jersey to cheer on his brother throughout the weekend.
“I am extremely proud of our officers for coming up with this idea to support and raise awareness to such a great cause. We are fortunate to have one of our own officers family members lead us in this endeavor” Chief Sean O’Halloran
