Utica police, state troopers to square off in hockey game for charity
Utica police officers will face off against state troopers in a January hockey match that will benefit memorial funds for law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty earlier this year, organizers said.
Utica police will play in memory of Officer Thomas Lindsey, who was fatally shot in April during a traffic stop. State police will play for Trooper David Brinkerhoff, who was killed later in April by friendly fire during a shootout with a man who injured another trooper the day before.
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<p class="x_FAHead" style="margin: 0in 0in 4pt 2pt;"><font size="2"><font face="HelveticaNeueNY">What: Utica Police vs. New York State Troopers Face Off Benefit Game</font></font>
<p class="x_FABody" style="margin: 0in 0in 3pt 2pt;"><font size="2"><font face="HelveticaNeueNY">When: 7:30 p.m. Jan. 5, 2008. </font></font>
<p class="x_FABody" style="margin: 0in 0in 3pt 2pt;"><font size="2"><font face="HelveticaNeueNY">Where: Utica Memorial Auditorium.</font></font>
<p class="x_FABody" style="margin: 0in 0in 3pt 2pt;"><font size="2"><font face="HelveticaNeueNY">Tickets: $5; kids younger than10 free. Call Tony at 269-6134 or Joe at (518) 470-2779. Tickets will be available at the door.</font></font>
<p class="x_FABody" style="margin: 0in 0in 3pt 2pt;"><font size="2"><font face="HelveticaNeueNY">Raffle: Tickets will be sold for a chance to win a 2008 vehicle from Don's Ford, Subaru and BMW. </font></font>
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"For us, it's kind of like a healing process," said Investigator Tony Salerno of the Utica Police Department. "It's just an awareness of Tom and Dave."
Salerno and Trooper Joe Nitte, who play on the same recreational hockey team, planned the event. Though troopers and police have played benefit games in the past, they've previously benefited youth hockey.
On Jan. 5, about 15 police officers will suit up for the police department and take on 20 troopers.
Though the match is for a good cause, players say they're still in it to win it.
"They're fun games, but they can get a testy," Salerno said.
"It's always a good game," Nitte said. "I'll put it that way."
Nitte and Salerno noted the connection between the fallen officers was more than their jobs. Brinkerhoff was one of the troopers who assisted police during the investigation into Lindsey's death, Nitte said.
"It not only supports that officer's name, his memory, but also his family," Nitte said of the benefit game. "That's why we're doing it."
Observer-Dispatch