CARMEL- Upwards of 500 people are expected to converge on Camarda Park in Carmel Sunday afternoon for Putnam County’s 7th annual Prayer Walk for Police.
The idea of a prayer walk was conceived by Marianne Chaluisan, a resident of Mahopac who comes from a police family background.
“Police today are getting a bum rap with many officers wrongly being verbally, physically and emotionally beaten up. I want to lift up the officers’ spirits and let them know that we in Putnam realize they are not the ‘bad guys.’ Cops have families like you and me who go out every day leaving their wives, children and parents behind fearing the unknown,” said Chaluisian.
Sunday’s walk is being held in honor of Stephen Driscoll, a former member of the NYPD Emergency Services Unit, who lost his life on 9-11 while rescuing those trapped in the World Trade Center shortly before the twin towers collapsed.
The Putnam chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police is named in Driscoll’s memory.
Chaluisan said the response to the vigil has been “amazing. Police and their families from not only the immediate Putnam area have promised to participate but others from New York City, White Plains, Yonkers, and the entire Hudson Valley.”
The walk begins at 1:15 p.m.
Camarda Park is located off Seminary Hill Road in Carmel midway between Route 6 and Drewville Road.
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