Tri-state Officers Look Out For
Louisiana Brothers-In-Blue
Reported by:
Lynn Giroud
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Photographed by: 9News
Last Updated: 9/8/2005 12:43:47 AM
Another special need is being met by the generosity
of the Tri-state.
Police officers from several area departments in our area, including the
University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University, Cleves, Hamilton and
Blue Ash, banned together to collect equipment and uniforms -- over $100,000
worth of supplies -- for fellow "brothers-in-blue" who've lost everything.
At the University of Cincinnati's police department headquarters Wednesday
night, a truck was being loaded with police gear.
It all started when they heard there was a need for body armor in Gretna,
Louisiana, just outside of New Orleans.
That police department lost everything in Hurricane Katrina.
"That's why we first started off with vests and it snowballed into food,
clothing, personal hygiene items, water, police uniforms, equipment, anything
needed to run a police agency," said Lt. Karen Patterson, of the UC campus
police.
"We know being a small agency, we can't afford to send manpower down, but we
want to do whatever we can to help," said Col. Mark Demeropolis, Cleves Police
Chief. "Small departments like ours, this wipes them out and they need
everything they can get down there and we went through and scraped everything we
could."
Steve Arslan, the owner of Arslan Uniform Company, donated hundreds of police
uniforms on that truck.
The truck is leaving for Louisiana around 4 a.m. Thursday morning.
