An Annville-based company is running a fundraiser through mid-October to remember the three York County police officers who were killed in the line of duty last week.
911 Rapid Response, a company whose sales are predominantly within the public safety community, will donate 100 percent of proceeds from the sale of commemorative stickers to honor those officers, according to company owner Mark Sallada.
Stickers can be ordered in any quantity and cost $5 each.
“We are deeply saddened by the recent actions around the world, but when they are close to home, they affect those around you even more. We support our law enforcement to the fullest extent,” Sallada wrote in a post to the company’s social media page. “We decided to make stickers for the 3 fallen officers at the Northern York County Regional Police Department and donate 100 percent of the sale to them.”
Sallada told LebTown during a telephone interview that the company’s Mark It graphics department created the sticker and that his business will take orders online and in-store through Oct. 13. 911 Rapid Response is at 700 W. Main St., Annville.
“When we have something that is this significant, with three officers dying in the line of duty and it is relatively close, we try to give back, we do something to give back,” Sallada told LebTown. “I don’t personally know these officers but I was an (police) officer for 15 years of my life, so I understand the friendships that these guys create over time, working together and how they impact others in their community and how this affects other officers and other first responders who aren’t even close to them.”
He said this was an easy decision to make on behalf of these officers and their families.
“We, my wife and I, have always like to give back in this aspect, and we said, ‘Hey, listen, we did this for Lebo when it happened in our hometown,’ and we also said, ‘Why don’t we create a sticker for them and give all the officers one for free at no charge.’ And whatever we sell over the next weeks, 100 percent of proceeds will be given to them (in their memory).”
As of early Monday afternoon, the company had sold about 300 stickers, raising approximately $1,500 for the fund. After the fundraiser closes on Oct. 13, Sallada said company officials will hand deliver a check to the department for proceeds to be used to support the families of the officers.
Last week, Northern York Regional police Sgt. Isaiah Emenheiser, Det. Mark Baker, and Det. Sgt. Cody Becker were killed while attempting to serve an arrest warrant to an armed fugitive. That individual killed them and critically wounded two other law enforcement officers.
Sallada said his staff would begin to mail the stickers to buyers and they were available on the company’s showroom floor as of Tuesday, Sept. 23.
He added that stickers are an item that are highly visible and make a lasting impression.
“When you do something as little as a sticker that contains the names of three people who lost their lives, and you put on the back window of a pickup truck or on the back of your laptop, and you go into a room and open your laptop at a meeting with 20 people in attendance around a conference table, it says to them, ‘Hey, you have folks out there who do this for a living but who could die at any moment from some selfish person who takes another person’s life,’” Sallada said.
Sallada added that the stickers are also a reminder of the sacrifice officers make on a daily basis to serve the community and keep its residents safe.
“It’s also not just to remember those officers, but also to remember law enforcement in general, to remember that they could do another career. They don’t have to be a cop. They don’t have to go to work today. They don’t have to do that career,” he said. “But they pick and choose to do that career because they want to do better. They want to help people and give back to the community. Without them, the world would be a mess. There would be no control.”
Sallada emphasized that all funds will go directly to the families who lost their loved ones.
“These funds will be directly used for those three families in some sort of way,” he said. “We’ll decide collectively as to where those funds will go. But I do guarantee that all proceeds are going directly to those families in some sort of way. How those funds are used will be posted on our social media page.”
The existing social media post noted to the Northern York County Regional Police Department that they are “in our thoughts and prayers during these difficult times. All officers of the department will be given a sticker at no charge.”
Sallada added that the Lebo fundraiser from a few years ago raised several thousand dollars that were donated to the William D. Lebo Memorial Foundation. Lebo was a Lebanon city police officer whose end of watch occurred on March 31, 2022.
The company’s web page notes that the 3.5-inch round stickers are printed on high quality vinyl with lamination to increase outdoor lifespan as crafted by Mark It Graphics staff members. The graphics department is one of numerous divisions within 911 Rapid Response.
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