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On Saturday, the Crowley Police Department will host a fun, action-packed, all-day event that has something for everyone.
And the best part? It’s all for a worthy cause. Namely, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The event, the inaugural First Responder Battleground, will be held at the Rice Festival Building and will begin at 9 a.m. and culminate with members of the Crowley Police Department squaring off in the boxing ring and rolling on the jiu jitsu mat.
The activities that take place during the daytime will be free and the public is invited to join in. The schedule is as follows:
• 9 a.m. - Meet and Greet with fighters, history and uniform exhibit;
• 11 a.m. - Community-assisted Fire Truck Pull;
• 1:30 p.m. - Kit Run Relay, Tug-of-War; and
• 3:30 p.m. - Crowley Fire Dept. Fire Truck Experience, K-9 bite demonstration.
Throughout the day there will also be a variety of things to keep the kids entertained, including fun jumps and face painting.
There will be a $10 admission price for the boxing and jiu jitsu, which will start promptly at 5.
Concessions will also be sold.
“I am humbled by the dedication the Crowley Police officers have shown to the community. I am even more humbled that they want to have this event to support St. Jude,” said Chief Jimmy Broussard. “This idea didn’t come from me. It came from the officers themselves. When they asked whether they could do it, I said ‘Absolutely,’ and they ran with it.”
“So many times the police department gets a bad rap, but this is proof positive to the public that the officers love and care for the community they serve.”
According to event organizer Sgt. Casey Morgan, “The FRBG was created to help bridge the gap between the community and the police department, but it turned into so much more, with other agencies showing support.”
Morgan also echoes Broussard with regard to the potential for the event’s impact on the relationship of the police department and other first responders with the community.
“When I was growing up,” said Morgan, “police officers and first responders were heroes, but today it seems that all you see (about them) is negativity on the news. For FRBG, each of these officers is donating his or her time to show the children that they care and to provide them with positive interaction with the officers.”
Morgan also hopes that the FRBG event will help make jiu jitsu and boxing part of the police department’s culture, bringing with it the physical training required for the sports.
“I believe that friendly competition is a great way to do that, and by donating all the proceeds — every penny — to St. Jude’s, we can help children who are fighting cancer, as well as their families. No child or parent deserves to endure the battle with cancer, much less the financial hardship that comes with it.”
Both the boxing and jiu jitsu competitions will be tournament-style. The initial brackets are:
Boxing
• Lt. Devin Hebert vs. Ptn. Chris Lee;
• Ptn. Pat Benoit vs. Lt. Tate Thibodeaux;
• Ptn. Ryan Doucet vs. Ptn. Logan Cambell; and
• Wild card - Reserve Officer Billy Trahan.
Jiu Jitsu:
• Ptn. Reginald Richard vs. Ptn. Pat Benoit;
• Sgt. Casey Morgan vs. Ptn. Chris Lee;
• Ptn. Alex Beede vs. Ptn. Logan Campbell; and
• Ptn. Ryan Doucet vs. Ptn. Blacin Doucet.
For more information, call 783-1234 or visit www.facebook.com/events/500523620510547.