By Nicole Mooradian
The Manhattan Beach Police Department will participate in this year's annual Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run's Los Angeles leg on Monday.
They are expected to receive the Special Olympics Flame of Hope around 1:30 p.m. from Hermosa Beach police at 1st Street and Manhattan Avenue and will run it through the city.
More than 4,000 officers and Special Olympics athletes are expected to run 1,500 miles through 200 communities with the torch to raise awareness and funds for Special Olympics Southern California.
Manhattan Beach police will be in the eighth group to carry the torch in Los Angeles County.
The Torch Run was created in 1981 by Wichita (KS) Police Department Chief Richard LaMunyon to get his officers involved in the local Special Olympics. Now, the Torch Run includes more than 125 runs in more than 45 countries, according to Special Olympics.
In 2012, more than 125 law-enforcement agencies raised a combined nearly $1.2 million in the Southern California Torch Run.
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