Police officers will try to promote the Special Olympics of Iowa Thursday. Around 20 officers from Quad Cities police departments will run through Bettendorf and Davenport during the annual Torch Run.
The worldwide Law Enforcement Torch Run began in 1981 in Wichita, Kansas, and each year, more that 97,000 officers participate.
Bettendorf Police Sergeant George Ramos says been helping organize the torch run in the Quad Cities for more than 20 years.
Local residents can join the torch run at any time. The 8-mile route starts at the Bettendorf Police Department, continues west along the bike trail in Davenport, and then crosses the Government and Centennial Bridges into Rock Island and back to Davenport.
Money for the Special Olympics of Iowa is raised through selling T-shirts, which are being sold by the Bettendorf Police Department. Ramos hopes they can raise between 1-thousand and 15-hundred dollars this year. To order a shirt, you can contact George Ramos at gramos@bettendorf.org or Ashley Guffey at aguffey@bettendorf.org.