AURORA — The bench at Hoops Park stands as a reminder of a mother’s love for her son. It was a memorial Dorothea Niblet was willing to do on her own.
But then Sgt. Mike Holm of the Aurora Police Department called.
What began as a telephone conversation turned into an evening of basketball last week at Montbello High School, where Aurora police took on officers from District 5 of the Denver Police Department. Sedrick Niblet, a former Montbello student, died in March 2007.
Niblet, 25, was playing basketball in Hoops Park when an undiagnosed heart condition caused him to collapse. Emergency personnel from Aurora were unable to revive him.
Hosting a memorial fundraiser for an individual community member is a new venture for Aurora police. Most of their memorials are for fallen officers. But Holm saw Niblet’s tragic death as an opportunity to reach out to the community that supported officers’ efforts to erect previous memorials, including one for Officer Doug Byrne, who died while responding to the emergency call for Niblet.
“It was such a unique situation,” Holm said. “We had an officer that died at the same time as him. . . .
“This was an opportunity to do something for somebody else.”
Montbello officials were more than willing to help.
“This was a wonderful opportunity to show the Niblets and the school that we care,” said Angela Davis-Robertson, the school’s Parent/Community Involvement coordinator. “And it was an opportunity to teach the students about giving back to the community.”
Davis-Robertson was the one who asked Denver police to participate.
“I had a vision to do these sorts of things, but they were willing to take it out of my hands,” Dorothea Niblet said. “I think it’s all just wonderful.”
With all the participants in place, the event grew from a fundraiser for Dorothea Niblet to pay for the bench into a community-building effort.
“What you’ve got here is the two largest police departments in the state working together to help others,” said Phouratsamay Chanthavong, the community resource officer for District 5. “I would love to help in any way I can to continue what we’ve started here.”
The event also got young people involved in community building. “We want to show that we’re not all about putting people in jail,” Holm said.
The Denver police won the game, 28-22, but the result drew no jeers from their Aurora counterparts. Instead, both teams left with a solid sense of camaraderie around a good cause, with early estimates of $1,000 raised for Sedrick Niblet’s bench. The bench and installation cost $2,000.
“It was short, but it was fun and all for a great cause,” said Aurora Patrol Officer Jeff Marisich. “Doing this once a year would be great.”
