<\/p>\n
Runners participate in the 2026 Law Enforcement Torch Run, benefiting Special Olympics Texas, at Klyde Warren Park in Dallas, TX, Thursday, April 16, 2026.<\/p>\n
Juan Figueroa\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Crowds dressed in neon pink shirts and navy blue Dallas police<\/a> and Dallas Fire-Rescue uniforms mingled on the grass Thursday morning at Klyde Warren Park. Special Olympics Texas athletes excitedly ran<\/a> into each other\u2019s arms, waved pom-poms and posed for pictures with officers and people dressed in Star Wars and\u00a0McGruff the Crime Dog costumes.\u00a0<\/p>\n The sun shone down through layers of clouds and branches, casting intricate patterns across the ground as Dallas Police Academy recruits led the crowd in a warm-up session ahead of the 2026 Law Enforcement Torch Run, held to raise money and awareness for Special Olympics Texas.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Rachel\u00a0Seba, a lead athlete and representative for Special Olympics Texas, moved through the stretches with a smile on her face. The 35-year-old said she has participated in the Special Olympics for over 22 years.<\/p>\n \u201cSpecial Olympics means a lot to me,\u201d\u00a0Seba said. \u201cI get to share my spirit and meet people I might not have met before.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Justin Ball stood by the stage before the race holding a fiery torch with athlete Mia Patterson to light the Flame of Hope, a symbolic fire that signifies unity and inclusion.<\/p>\n Make Dallas News a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhen the Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire-Rescue get together, it\u2019s usually on a scene, but today it\u2019s for a great reason and a shared mission,\u201d Ball said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n As first responders, we talk a lot about bravery, which is the ability to face a challenge even when the odds are stacked against you, but looking at all of you today, I think you could teach us a thing or two about courage,\u201d Ball said.<\/p>\n Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Justin Ball and athlete Mia Patterson hug after lighting the Flame of Hope to kick off the 2026 Law Enforcement Torch Run, benefiting Special Olympics Texas, at Klyde Warren Park in Dallas, TX, Thursday, April 16, 2026.<\/p>\n Juan Figueroa\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Once the Flame of Hope was lit, hundreds of community members, law enforcement officers and athletes lined up along Woodall Rogers Freeway Frontage Road to start the 1.5-mile run or 0.8 mile walk.<\/p>\n Seba and her mother finished the walk together about 30 minutes after it started. They meandered down the park\u2019s gravel path, slowing down as Seba high-fived and hugged people standing on the outskirts, before receiving a medal strung on a golden yellow ribbon as they crossed the \u201cPlay Unified\u201d blow-up arch at the end of the course.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n A volunteer holds medals given out during the 2026 Law Enforcement Torch Run, benefiting Special Olympics Texas, at Klyde Warren Park in Dallas, TX, Thursday, April 16, 2026.<\/p>\n Juan Figueroa\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Seba said her mother doubles as her tennis partner and will represent Team Texas with her in the Special Olympics USA Games in June at the University of Minnesota and the National Sports Center in Blaine. The nonprofit holds more than 300 competitions in area, regional and state levels for adults and children with intellectual disabilities.<\/p>\n Lt. Kellie Renfro serves as the Dallas police liaison to Special Olympics Texas and said she first learned about the organization in 2019 when she was pregnant with her second child, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome. Her son, who is now 6, participates as a youth athlete in the organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t originally know it existed,\u201d\u00a0Renfro said. \u201cI found it, or rather, it found me.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n This is the second consecutive year Dallas has opened the torch run to the public,\u00a0Renfro said. Since Dallas police began participating about 25 years ago, community participation has grown from about 100 people to over 600.<\/p>\n \u201cWe opened it up because we wanted to share both the love and awareness,\u201d\u00a0Renfro said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about going out and volunteering for events. It\u2019s about really becoming family, becoming friends.\u201d<\/p>\n The police department raised over $68,000 for the torch run this year, while companies such as Target,\u00a0Atmos Energy and Energy Transfer raised amounts from $10,000 to $50,000.<\/p>\n Athlete Rachel Seba puts on a medal after reaching the finish line during the 2026 Law Enforcement Torch Run, benefiting Special Olympics Texas, at Klyde Warren Park in Dallas, TX, Thursday, April 16, 2026.<\/p>\n Juan Figueroa\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Jordan Baccus, Special Olympics Texas North Region torch run coordinator, said the Dallas Police Department became the first in Texas to raise over $100,000 for Special Olympics Texas in 2024. Baccus said the department raised over $114,000 in 2025.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Dallas police Chief Daniel\u00a0Comeaux celebrated his two-year anniversary with the department at the event, noting that he attended two days after he began the job last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI will be here every single year, and I will always give the department the ability and opportunity to do bigger and better things with the Special Olympics,\u201d\u00a0Comeaux said.<\/p>\n Comeaux wore a medal strung on an orange ribbon around his neck throughout the event. He said an athlete gave it to him last year, and he keeps it on his bedpost at home.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n As\u00a0Comeaux reached the finish line, he added a new 2026 medal to his collection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Runners participate in the 2026 Law Enforcement Torch Run, benefiting Special Olympics Texas, at Klyde Warren Park in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":253058,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-253057","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-texas","9":"tag-texas-headlines","10":"tag-texas-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253057"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253057\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/253058"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
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