Blue Line Network to host fundraiser for DFC Hilliard’s family on Sunday
WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. – Community members are still mourning the death of Wicomico County Sheriff’s Deputy First Class (DFC) Glenn Hilliard. On Sunday, those efforts will continue.
Thin Line, Big Support
“The blue lines don’t last forever, but they do last for a long time. They just show the community that we’ve got each others’ backs,” said Vice President and Co-Founder of the Blue Line Network, Darren McCarnan. “Cops just really aren’t getting the support that they need. They really need to know that the community backs them – that 95% of the community supports them, and there’s a very few that don’t.”
The Blue Line Network will host a fundraising event at the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 111 in Salisbury on June 19th. Community members wanting to support the Hilliard family, and local law enforcement, can drive up and have a thin blue line and decal honoring DFC Hilliard put on their vehicles. Volunteers will also be present to collect donations.
McCarnan says a thin blue line can go a long way. “When an officer sees the blue line going down the road, they actually know that the community has their back. The silent majority does exist, and we do support our men and women in blue,” he said. “It just shows that people do care, and we do appreciate what they go through day in and day out, and that they’re prepared to make that ultimate sacrifice just to keep us safe.”
Community Outpouring
Jeff Merritt of Operation We Care says this is just one way the community has shown their support for the Hilliard family, and the law enforcement community. From those lining the streets as DFC Hilliard was brought home from Baltimore, to a vigil attracting hundreds, Merritt says the amount of support shown over the past three days has been overwhelming.
“Any time something happens in the community, this community wants to connect to it in some way. That’s whether it’s by volunteering, donating money, donating time, donating goods and services,” said Merritt. “Glenn had a wife and three kids. This is tragic, and raising money is part of it. We also want them to know that the community is behind them.”
Merritt says he hopes to see that support continue. “They were very moved by what they saw [at the vigil], and we just need to make sure that continues, and it doesn’t stop the week after the funeral. It needs to continue,” he said. “When the family is out in the community and they see cars all over the place with these blue lines and stickers on them, they know their community supports them.”
Where It Began
DFC Hilliard is not the only law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty that the Blue Line Network has honored. In 2017, Delaware State Police Corporal Stephen Ballard was shot to death while investigating a suspicious vehicle in a Bear Wawa parking lot. McCarnan says he and his partner, Maryland State Police Detective Sergeant Robert Quirk, put their heads together to figure out how to support the community.
The pair came up with the idea for the thin blue line fundraiser. Eventually, it flourished into the organization it is today. “The outpouring of the community meant so much to the law enforcement community. You could just see them change. It kind of makes me feel like it gives them a little bit of hope,” said McCarnan.
McCarnan says the organization is hoping for a big turn out Sunday; especially after Wicomico County has marked its second death in the line of duty in just 14 months. The Blue Line Network also hosted fundraising events after Delmar Police Department’s Corporal Keith Heacook was killed in the line of duty.
Sunday Details
Sunday’s event begins at 10 a.m. and is expected to run until 2 p.m. However, McCarnan says volunteers will continue their work past 2 p.m. if there are still people showing up. All proceeds will support the Hilliard family. Plus, the organization is still looking for volunteers. Anyone interested in helping out, or looking for more information on the fundraiser, can visit the Blue Line Network’s Facebook page.
