Brendan Bridges Named Officer of the Year

Brendan Bridges from Decatur County is the 2022 Spirit of Special Olympics Indiana Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR) Officer of the Year award winner.

Presented during the annual state conference, the Spirit of Special Olympics Indiana awards recognize the athletes, coaches, volunteers, families and Law Enforcement Torch Run officers who have gone above and beyond in their contributions to the Special Olympics movement. Area management teams submit nominations and the winners are selected by Special Olympics Indiana’s board of directors.

The following details were submitted in Brendan’s nomination letter from Area 9:

“Chief Bridges has been a tireless supporter of Special Olympics Indiana since 2015.

“He advocates for SOIN in his local community by working toward inclusion and accessibility efforts in Greensburg and by being actively involved in LETR. Brendan retired as the Greensburg Chief of Police and is now one of the resource officers at the Greensburg Community Schools. Brendan has been able to provide support to start a Champions Together Program in the Greensburg High School and Junior High School, with plans to start one in the Elementary School as well. Brendan also helped bring the story of Carl Erskine to the schools with the Erskine Personal Impact Curriculum.

“Brendan is a proud member of the LETR State Leadership Team. He has continually hosted and participated in events like Tip-a-Cop, Cop on a Rooftop, Cover the Cruiser and Polar Plunge. Brendan also helped the Greensburg Junior High School students pull off a successful “Kiss a Pig” fundraiser to raise awareness about the Champions Together Program.

“Brendan is also part of the Decatur County Management Team. He also has a personal interest in Special Olympics now that his son Jaxon became an athlete in 2021 and competed at Summer Games for the first time in 2022.

“In addition to all he does in our schools and Special Olympics, Brendan is also spear-heading a project to bring an Inclusion Park to the Greensburg area.

“Brendan is much respected by our athletes, families, volunteers and community. Brendan not only talks the talk but walks the walk when it comes to changing the lives not only of our athletes but the lives of all individuals with intellectual disabilities in our community and across the state.”