Rochester police foundation
Support Programs
Officer Support
This emergency fund helps Rochester Police Department officers and their families with their immediate needs in times of tragedy or hardship.
Officer and Family Support Examples
Officer Dennison “Denny” Wright is a 23+ year veteran of the Rochester Police Department. In October of 2019, he was brutally attacked while on duty, and suffered multiple, devastating stabbing injuries. Funds raised by the Foundation and other groups were used to modify officer Wright’s home to accommodate his new needs, and to help support his family during a very difficult time.
Officer Manuel “Manny” Ortiz died as the result of an accidental gunshot, in November, 2019. The Foundation set up a GoFundMe page in order to provide immediate, direct assistance for Officer Ortiz’ family. Combined with private donations, the effort has raised over $50,000 and the page remains open for continuing donations. All funds go to the family.
Mounted Patrol
A police horse can cost more than $12,000, and that doesn’t include training, feeding, housing and other care. The normal police operating budget is not always sufficient to acquire and support new horses, so the RPF has stepped in on multiple occasions to help. Most recently, the Foundation provided the funds to buy the mounted patrol’s newest horse,”Chase,” and also sponsored a contest for city school children to come up with his name.
K-9 Unit
When a K-9 Unit dog retires, they go to live with the corresponding officer. As such, there is high turnover of dogs. Each dog is approximately $8,000 and they go through a very regimented training process. Rochester Police Foundation helps with these costs, which includes medical diagnosis. A dog recently underwent cancer screening and was able to continue serving RPD through early prevention. To date, RPF has funded two dogs added to the force: Jazz & Rocky.
RPD 200th Anniversary
2019 marked the 200th anniversary of the Rochester Police Department. As part of the milestone celebration, the Foundation raised $5000 for the Special Olympics in honor of the department.