DPD, WCSO Set For "Battle of the Badges" Weekend
Thursday, September 8th, 2022
Officers and deputies from the Dalton Police Department and Whitfield County Sheriff's Office will be squaring off against each other on the softball diamond Saturday for a good cause - and also some bragging rights. The first "Battle of the Badges" charity softball game will be played Saturday, September 10th at Riverbend Park at 5:00 pm. Admission is free and the public is invited and encouraged to attend and cheer on their favorite team - preferably the Dalton side.
There will be more fun than just the game - there will be inflatable play areas for the kids, raffles for prizes, a national anthem performance by Nashville recording artist Lee Newton, and much more. Proceeds from money raised by the event will benefit Shop With A Cop, the Grace and Joy House, and Special Olympics Georgia.
"My expectation is just a large crowd and a good environment and to have a good time," said Sergeant David Saylors from the Dalton Police Department team. "I’ve been watching these videos of the Savannah Bananas, so you never know what we’ll break out," Saylors added, referring to the independent minor league baseball squad in Savannah known for innovative, crowd-pleasing antics during games.
The charities served by the game were picked by officers and leaders from departments. The Whitfield County Sheriff's Office opted to raise money for their Shop With A Cop Christmas event. The Dalton Police Department raises money for its own joint DPD/Dalton Fire Department Shop With A Hero Christmas event with a separate fundraiser, so the DPD opted to raise money for the Special Olympics Georgia charity and also the Grace and Joy House, whose mission is to provide a safe and loving home for children awaiting placement in the state's foster care system. Both the Special Olympics and the Grace and Joy House charities are near and dear to the hearts of Dalton officers.
Even though the event is raising money through donations from corporate donors and also proceeds from concessions and on-site donations, admission is free to the public. Both agencies wanted to encourage as many people to attend as possible.
"The real big thing for this is just the community getting to see and talk to officers or deputies outside of having them come to a house or a car crash or something like that," said Sergeant Saylors. "Bragging rights (between the agencies on the game) are definitely important... but at the end of the game we do all work together and we work well together."
Currently the plan is to attempt to play the game in the event of rain. In the event of lightning or dangerous weather, the game will be rescheduled for the following weekend.
