'Back the Blue' Money Distributed to All ERPD Officers

The proceeds of the “Back the Blue” fundraiser are being distributed to the East Ridge Police Department in the form of gift cards.

A press release from the International Brotherhood of Police Officers Local 735 states that 52 police officers, both union and non-union, will each receive a $100 gift card to GT Distributors, an area store which specializes in law enforcement supplies.

A “Back the Blue” barbeque and bake sale spearheaded by private citizens raised $5,528 earlier this month. The effort to raise money was in response to allegations by the local union that much-needed supplies, including latex gloves, body armor and taser cartridges, were not readily available to officers. Hamilton County Commissioner Tim Boyd, whose district includes East Ridge, kicked in an additional $7,500 to meet the perceived shortfall.

The press release states that the IBPO would like to thank John Tilley, Harry Mackey and the East Ridge Optimist Club for its efforts in support of the “Back the Blue” fundraiser. In addition, the union expresses its gratitude to all the volunteers, singling out Court Clerk Patricia Cassidy, as well as all the citizens who helped make the fundraiser a success

Union officials said they are discussing how to use the balance of the fundraising effort, some $325, to benefit all officers on the force.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.