Monroeville, Murrysville cops hit the roof of doughnut shop to help Special Olympics

Murrysville Police Chief Tom Seefeld took up a position with officers from his department and Monroeville police on the roof of the Dunkin' Donuts along William Penn Highway on Friday morning.

They were not looking for criminals.

Instead, they were looking for support as part of the annual "Cop on a Rooftop" event to raise awareness and collect donations for this year's Law Enforcement Torch Run.

The annual run benefits Special Olympics Pennsylvania.

"We're glad to be here," Seefeld said. "Anything we can do to help out the special Olympians. We're hoping that we outdo last year. We're running from 5 a.m. this morning to 5 p.m. this evening. That's a little longer than we did last year. We're hoping for good things... We hope to do our part."

Cops on the rooftop of the donut shop in Murrysville pic.twitter.com/c2ye02cT9w

— Mike D. (@MikeJdiVittorio) May 18, 2018

Retired Penn Hills teacher Jack Barilla and a group of friends frequent the shop . On this visit, he scored a Special Olympics T-shirt along with his morning coffee.

"It's nice to support the kids' activities that they do," Barilla said. "This is a major part of our lives here. Every one of these fellas has a different personality, but we're all friends and we're all retired."

The shop was packed inside and the drive-thru, at times, had cars stopped along the highway waiting to donate to the Law Enforcement Torch Run.

Officers were selling T-shirts, Terrible Towel beach towels and cups. Those who donated received a coupon that could be redeemed for a donut.

Dunkin' Donuts employee tips were donated to the Special Olympics, as well.

"It's been very busy and very uplifting," Dunkin' Donuts manager Kathy Samek said. "We appreciate everybody's support. It was a huge success last year and we hope to be even better this year. It's always important to give back, pay it forward. That's what life's all about. We all help each other."

Samek said the shop raised about $2,900 last year and have a goal of $3,500 this year.

The roughly 150-mile run starts May 29 at home plate in PNC Park and finishes May 31 at Penn State University in State College.

Monroeville has 20 runners signed up. They plan to run the last leg of the first day from Sheetz along Route 22 to the Marathon gas station near the Murrysville border.

Murrysville police will set the pace starting on the second day with its seven runners. Murrysville will run about three miles from the Speedway near route 22 and 286 to the Sheetz at Route 22 and School Road starting at 7:30 a.m.

"This really has a positive effect on the community and opens a lot of people's eyes to what we do and what Special Olympics Pennsylvania does for these kids and young adults," Monroeville Police Officer W.T. Supancic said. "It's overwhelming the amount of support the law enforcement community pours out that day."

More information about the run is available online at bit.ly/2Itz2zZ .