OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A driver at I-80 Speedway and Eagle Raceway is using the hood of his race car to honor a fallen Omaha police officer.
Race car driver Jim Cahill unveiled the tribute to officer Kerrie Orozco at Omaha Police Department’s northwest precinct on Wednesday, the Omaha World-Herald (https://bit.ly/1PWmsjT ) reported. The fallen officer’s mother, Ellen Holtz, christened the race car by spraying it with a bottle of champagne.
“I wanted to bring attention to the Support Blue campaign and in particular the work of Officer Orozco,” Cahill said Wednesday at the police precinct. “I learned in the Air Force long ago that if you want to make a difference in this life, you need to care, share and give a damn. When I think about Kerrie’s life and all the things she did, those ideals really describe her.”
Orozco, 29, died on May 20 after she was shot by a suspect as police sought to arrest the fugitive on an assault warrant.
Cahill, a former Bellevue police officer, received permission from Orozco’s family and the First Responders Foundation to use his race car to honor the fallen officer.
Jim Hanson, a member of the foundation’s executive board, thinks it’s a good way to remind the public of the good that police officers do.
“(Cahill) is bringing awareness to Support Blue,” Hanson said. “We know that 99 percent of police officers are great people and that’s who we’re here to support.”
Cahill, 55, recently decided to get back into racing about 30 years after he last took the track as a young man in Ohio. He expects to go racing every weekend with his three sponsors.
“When I started looking for sponsors, a lot of just regular people came forward to give money for the (paint job) without wanting their names even mentioned,” Cahill said. “I am still looking for a T-shirt sponsor. The shirts would highlight Support Blue and Kerrie, and have the race car theme with proceeds going to Kerrie’s family.”
The race car driver’s four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive Chevy features a large portrait of Orozco, as well as Support Blue and Kerrie On logos.
“It’s a great tribute to Kerrie,” Holtz said. “I’m really not a racing fan, but I do hope to get out and see (Cahill) race. Go Jim!”
Cahill plans to test the race car Friday and Saturday at I-80 Speedway near Greenwood.
___
Information from: Omaha World-Herald, https://www.omaha.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.