Verona, Cedar Grove Cops Join 2017 Special Olympics Torch Run (PHOTOS)

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Officers from the Verona and Cedar Grove Police Departments joined their peers in Essex County to carry a torch for the Garden State’s Special Olympics athletes earlier this month when they took over responsibility for Leg No. 18 in the 34th annual Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics New Jersey.

This year, police officers from Essex County worked together to bring the “Flame of Hope Torch” through their segment of the county, authorities said.

Each year, the "Flame of Hope" torch is carried more than 750 miles throughout the state by about 3,000 officers representing their local communities.

The 2017 statewide relay began 4:45 a.m. on June 9. Torch Run Relay Leg No. 18 stared at 8:30 a.m., with a staging ceremony at the Wilshire Grand Hotel in West Orange. Participants ran down Pleasant Valley Way to Bloomfield Avenue, through Verona, Montclair, Glen Ridge, and Bloomfield, ending their leg at the Bloomfield PBA Hall on Watsessing Avenue.

For more information on the New Jersey Law Enforcement Torch Run for the Special Olympics visit www.njtorchrun.org.

Send Essex County tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com