Event offers people chance to raise money by chasing police officers

HALIFAX – A few dozen people raced around the Beazley Field in Dartmouth Tuesday afternoon, preparing for a special kind of police chase.

The upcoming Police Chase fundraiser race will pit police officers against Special Olympians and the general public to raise money — and it’s the officers who will be running away

“They get a chance to chase us, instead of us chasing them in police cars,” said Staff Sgt. Mike Taylor, one of the officers who came up with the idea for the event. “Turn the tables.”

“Trying to get the people more involved, get the Special Olympians out and get the younger members, that’s what I’m trying to do. Get them participating in community involvement,” said Taylor.

Catching an officer will result in getting a ticket, but it won’t set participants back any cash.

“If they do catch up to the police, the police will be passing out what look like parking tickets, but they’re actually ballots for a chance to win $100,” said Michelle Kempton, the race director.

Then there’s the speed trap.

“If you get tagged by the radar, then you win $100. So there’s going to be 10 people randomly picked from start to finish that will win $100 automatically,” Kempton said.

“You need to reach a minimum speed for this to even register on it, so we’re looking at least 17 kilometres per hour. Hopefully our police can reach that,” said RCMP Const. Jim Shields with a laugh.

The event is set to take place July 20. Until then, organizers say they need help raising money — the goal is to collect $10,000 for Special Olympics Nova Scotia.

“We need people to sign up, because that actually is the fundraising component,” Kempton said. “So what we decided to do is use the registration fee as the fundraiser…your registration fee is going to help Special Olympics,”

If the event is successful, organizers say it could become an annual fundraiser.