Bellevue Police Foundation Breakfast Raises Money to Help Fight Crime

New crime-fighting equipment were on display and stories from the beat were shared at the Bellevue Police Foundation fundraising breakfast last week at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue.

Keynote speaker King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg told the morning crowd about modern day forensics in building cases and officers were available to display some of the items purchased by the foundation to help the in its work, including new electric patrol scooters and Roc, a German Shepherd K-9 officer.

Bellevue Police Chief Linda Pillo thanked the donors at the breakfast for their contributions and said that their contributions have helped fight crime and save lives in Bellevue.

"Your contributions helped us to work smarter, helped us to work safer, and helped us to work better for our community," she said.

The items purchased with funds from the police foundation include a digital forensics computer equipment and a light for the forensics lab, a "throw phone" which helps during hostage situtations and Roc. The department has ordered a T3 Electric Law Enforcement Vehicle, which will help police officers patrol downtown Bellevue.

The Bellevue Police Foundation was founded in 2007 to raise money to buy equipment and pay for programs for the Bellevue Police Department.  Since it was founded, the Bellevue Police Foundation has contributed more than $62,000 in equipment and training to the police department.

Bellevue Police Foundation president Jim Melby said that out of a $35.2 million annual budget, very little of it is discretionary, so purchases of state-of-the-art equipment using the regular budget is often out of the question.

"There are still a lot of things they like to have," Melby said. The foundation was created by local civic leaders to help raise money so the police can purchase those items, he said.

"You can't just hand over a check to the police department. It looks like a bribe," Melby said. "The community wants to find a way to support the police. This is a place where people can donate their support."

Pillo said her wish list for this year includes laptops for first-responding police officers and bringing back the Community Academy, which allowed city residents to learn about different facets of police work. The academy was cut in the 2010 budget.

Satterberg's keynote address included several cases made possible by to intrepid police work in Bellevue. He mentioned Det. Jenny Robertson's work in the case of Roger Scherner, convicted of three recent counts of sexual abuse after Robertson tracked down multiple victims spanning over 40 years, and Officer Thor Kraft, who rescued a 15-year-old girl from her pimp, Baruti Hopson, after the searching for the girl for months and finding her in a sex ad.

"People say, well humans make mistakes," Satterberg said. "But humans also have heart and show dedication."

If donating or volunteering for the Bellevue Police Foundation interests you, click here to find their website.