Cops stakeout rooftops for Special Olympics

Off-duty police officers from across Illinois joined forces Friday for a massive stakeout — at Dunkin’ Donuts.

The annual “Cop on Top” fundraiser is part of the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which benefits Special Olympics Illinois. Officers solicited donations from the roofs of 116 Dunkin’ Donuts locations across the state, including at least two in DuPage County. In exchange for their support, donors received a free doughnut.

“The sun’s really whippin’ us today,” said Sheriff Deputy Sgt. Randy Groh after climbing down from the roof of a Bensenville Dunkin’ Donuts on Irving Park Road for a short break.

Officers from the Wheaton Police Department, along with State’s Attorney Robert Berlin, also joined the action from the top of a Dunkin’ Donuts along Roosevelt Road in Wheaton. Organizers said breakfast chain contributed $10,000, as well.

The 25th Annual Torch Run is planned locally for June 5. The 20-mile course steps off at 7 a.m. from the sheriff’s office in Wheaton and goes through 11 other DuPage communities, including Naperville, Lombard and Addison, before returning to Wheaton.

Groh, an amateur runner, is among those planning to participate.

“We carry the torch for all the athletes in the Special Olympics program,” he said Friday, describing the torch as a “flame of hope.”

“We are considered the guardians of the flame for them,” he said.

For more information, or to donate, call (800) 394-0562 or visit www.dupagecountyletr.org or www.soill.org.