We had a fantastic time at Markel Davis's Bridging the Gap Trunk or Treat Event today. The estimate we heard is that 2,500 people attended, but we're not sure if that's accurate. What we know for sure is that despite everyone's best efforts--including CME Federal Credit Union donating all that candy to Franklin Township Police Department and Starfish supporters like Karen Jones and Andrew Tran giving lots of candy left from Beggar's Night--officers still ran out of candy, and FOP Capital City Lodge #9 had to go buy out nearby stores to keep the event going because there were so many attendees. Pretty cool, huh?
At one point, before the FOP arrived with more candy, Columbus Division of Police K-9 Officer David Jones ran completely out and had to tell a group of children that he didn't have anymore. An older boy started emptying his own candy into Ofc Jones's bowl so that there would be some for other children. We snagged a photo of the kind kiddo--he's the one with the Champion sweatshirt and the sunglasses. He didn't give this altruistic act a second thought; as soon as he saw the empty bowl and heard Ofc Jones was completely out, he immediately started dumping candy into it. How sweet! 🧡🖤
There were so many police agencies there today that we know we didn't get photos of all of them. So, if you don't see your hometown police department here, that doesn't mean they weren't in attendance. They very likely were.
Thanks to Franklin Township Sergeant Dave Pollock for contributing photos. He got to direct overflow traffic for much of the event, but he did manage to snag us some great ones.
Special thanks to Markel, his family, and their volunteers for all their hard work. This was a very special and much-needed event, and we're grateful for everything you did to make this happen.
Finally, for you K-9 Ayko fans (and we know there are a LOT of you), we've got extra photos of him below for you to enjoy.
