Crime & Safety

Local Police Raise Money for Injured Officer

O'Fallon Police joined forces with other area departments and the River City Rascals to raise $3,500 for an injured Lincoln County detective.

The Officers Association and other area police departments teamed up with the River City Rascals last weekend to raise money for a fellow law enforcement officer in need.

Officers braved the weekend heat in front of , collecting money before the Rascal's games on Friday and Saturday to benefit Lincoln County Detective Mark Huffman, who was injured in a non-duty car accident on July 19. 

The agencies helping out included:

Find out what's happening in O'Fallonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Lincoln County Sheriff's Department
  • Warrenton Police Department
  • Winfield Police Department
  • Eastern Missouri Police Academy

Together, the volunteers raised more than $3,500. O'Fallon Officer James Klingler, who helped organize the fundraiser, said the proceeds will go to help Huffman’s wife and three small children.

“Our primary goal for the money is to help out his wife and family with every day expenses,” Klingler said. “His medical expenses are going to be large and everything helps.”

Find out what's happening in O'Fallonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Klingler said Huffman was still in the Intensive Care Unit over the weekend, but seems to be doing much better.

Klingler is a member of the O’Fallon Police Officers Association, which represents O’Fallon officers and organizes charity events to support BackStoppers, the St. Charles County foster care program and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

He said helping out other law enforcement families is also an important mission of the organization.

“This is a fellow officer in need,” Klingler said. “We try to help out as much as we can any time another officer needs help. We would also like to express our appreciation to the River City Rascals Baseball Team. If it were not for them none of this would be possible.”

Those interested in making a donation to the Huffman family can contact the O’Fallon Police Officer’s Association at opoa95@yahoo.com .

 

 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from O'Fallon