BRAINTREE, MASS. (WHDH) - More than a hundred teams took part in a cornhole tournament in Braintree Sunday as organizers raised funds to support police dogs around the country.
The “K9 Kitt Foundation” was created in honor of Kitt, a Braintree K9 killed in the line of duty in 2021, and works to assist K9’s hurt on the job.
“This is just another example of how Braintree comes together for police officers, especially in this tragic situation,” said Braintree Mayor Charles Kokoros. “We’re just thrilled to see how many people (came) out today.”
Kitt, a 12-year veteran of the police department, was killed in June 2021 after a pursuit in a wooded area turned into an ambush on responding officers. He was credited with protecting police as gunfire was exchanged, taking shots from the suspect and giving officers time to return fire.
Sunday marked the second year in a row the community’s honored the police dog.
“I am here to support the community of Braintree and K9 Kitt and Officer Cushing,” said supporter Rayla Campbell, a Republican running for secretary of state. “It is very important that we’re protecting our police officers.”
Officer William Cushing was Kitt’s handler and a founder of the nonprofit. In a release, he called Kitt a “one-of-a-kind warrior who gave his life defending me and my fellow officers.”
Organizers of Sunday’s event told 7NEWS the amount of support shown was remarkable.
“We put this together in a couple of weeks last year to support our friends, Braintree Police, and this year has turned into something unbelievable that I think we didn’t know would happen, but were pleasantly surprised,” Organizer Kay Young said.
All money raised Sunday will benefit both the Kitt Foundation and the Braintree Police Officers Support Fund.
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