ROANOKE, Va – The Virginia Special Olympics torch is moving closer to Richmond.
Roanoke police officers carried the torch east on Route 460 on Wednesday.
Leading the pack was Growth Through Opportunity (GTO) Cadet Tyler Caldwell. He graduated from the first-of-its-kind program that gives those with special needs the chance to work one-on-one with officers.
“My daughter is actually a special-needs child as well, so we play in the Challenger Baseball League with a lot of the kids, so it's really nice to be able to have professional relationships with them,” explained Roanoke police Detective Ben Masters.
Tyler passed the torch to Josh Leonard, another GTO cadet, who continued the run on Route 460 on Wednesday morning.