(Our first Sunday report with other Polar Plunge video and photos is here)

As you saw in our first report about this morning’s Special Olympics Polar Plunge at Alki, there was a big law-enforcement contingent among the 350 people organizers say signed up – and that video shows them as the first group to dash into the 45-degree water. (At center, the Southwest Precinct’s commander, Capt. Joe Kessler, next to acting SPD Chief John Diaz – other law-enforcement luminaries who were on hand are shown in our first report. After plunging, Capt. Kessler pronounced the water “perfectly balmy.”) Tonight, Mary Do from Special Olympics reported in this WSB comment that the event raised $30,000. Also tonight, Chief Sealth’s Polar Plungers, who won the Spirit Award, are challenging any and all other high schools to “come try to take it away next year,” according to Michael Bunch, who shared this photo of the whole group afterward:

We had photographed Sealth athletic director Sam Reed with the trophy close-up – read on to see that photo and a few more we wanted to share before this event’s in the books:

Congrats again to Sealth. (Their actual plunge is in a video clip featured in our first report.) Next photo – emcee Chris Cashman (son of Pat) with one of the costume-contest hopefuls – you can’t read it, but the crab suit is embroidered with “DEADLIEST CATCH”:

Next: The offshore spectator who deserves his own Pemco commercial category (“that paddleboarding guy”) – when he pulled up to shore, he professed not to know what the festivities were about:

Next: Special police vehicles at the Polar Plunge scene:

Also from the law-enforcement contingent, someone you have probably seen on TV news a hundred times – Pierce County Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Sgt. Ed Troyer:

He has been his department’s media liaison for many years, and most recently, he was called on for countless interviews while Pierce County handled the investigation of the murder of four Lakewood Police officers – then, earlier this month, a horrifying case of deja vu as one of the county’s own deputies was gunned down. Those memories were surely on many minds at the Polar Plunge, where other law-enforcement luminaries included Lakewood’s police chief Bret Farrar, conferring with acting SPD Chief Diaz, who also had to deal with a tragedy, the murder of SPD Officer Tim Brenton. Today, though, they all banded together to give a boost to Special Olympics, which is supported by the Law Enforcement Torch Run. As the slogan went, they were “Freezin’ for a Reason”:

(Co-sponsors for the event included WSB – thanks to Special Olympics of Washington for inviting us to be on the sponsor team!)