ONTARIO -- Two decades ago, Carlos Christian couldn't have imagined being invited to a salute to law enforcement.
But on Sunday, the reformed felon and founder of Starts Within Organization stood among dozens of Richland County law enforcement officers to kick off the county's annual Spread the Light Week.
The event, based on Project Blue Light, recognizes and promotes pride in Richland County’s law enforcement through a week of activities, including Sunday's kickoff at the Graham Auto Mall, coffee with a cop Monday at area McDonald's and a panel entitled "Working Together for a Better Community" on Saturday at Mansfield Senior High School auditorium.
"This is about supporting local law enforcement. They are the backbone of our community," said Angel Ross-Taylor of We ACT, which organizes Spread the Light Week. "It just shows support to the men and women of our lovely county and the officers, men and women who protect us every day.
GALLERY: Spread the Light Kickoff 2019
We ACT's annual Spread the Light Week salute to Richland County law enforcement officers kicked off Sunday at 5 p.m. at Graham Automall, 1515 W. 4th St., Mansfield.
Carlos Christian speaks Sunday during the Spread the Light kickoff event at the Graham Auto Mall, sharing his story as a reformed felon.
We ACT encourages Richland County residents to support their local law enforcement by putting a blue light bulb on their porch or business from at least Jan. 6 to 12, attending one of the week's events, writing thank you letters to officers or sharing on social media a positive experience they've had with law enforcement.
Sunday's kickoff highlighted area law enforcement's ability to collaborate in the Shawn Christy manhunt in 2018, and later featured Christian, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison at age 19.
Christian, a Columbus resident, shared his story and thanked law enforcement for their service.
"Twenty-two years ago, I couldn't have imagined myself in a room such as this... At 19 years old, I got hit with a 10-year prison sentence. And I said, 'Whoa, this ain't right. This is not where I should be at," Christian said.
As a teen, he had envisioned dealing drugs as his way to "make it" in life, but prison wasn't his idea of "success."
Christian dedicated himself to rehabilitation, which included thinking like a civilian and "evolving his mentality."
"I had to take the mentality that got me incarcerated and I had to do something else, I had to get different information... that contradicted the information that I was operating off of. Because that information I was operating off of, it was bogus information. It was not accurate, and it was not going to get me to a place that was desirable," Christian said.
"Because when I looked down the hall ways of prison, I said, this is not desirable, this is not where I want to be, I don't want to be separated from my children, I don't want to be doing this type of living, this is not my idea of success," Christian said.
Christian served his sentence, and went on to live a different life when released.
Further, he wrote two books and now shares his message with others who are incarcerated in hopes of decreasing recidivism.
Collaboration in the Shawn Christy Manhunt & More
The Spread the Light kickoff event also recognized how local law enforcement's ability to collaborate impacted the Shawn Christy case in September 2018.
A fugitive from McAdoo, Penn., Christy was captured in Madison Township on Sept. 21 after leading law enforcement on a three-month, multi-state chase.
"It truly was a team effort, coordinated from the bottom up," said U.S. Marshall Brian Fitzgibbon. "When (Christy) was captured, he said to the officers on scene -- these are his words -- 'the one mistake I made in the last hundred plus days on the run was I picked Ohio to dump that car.'"
Mansfield Police Chief Ken Coontz and Richland County Sheriff Steve Sheldon also spoke on collaboration.
"I think in Richland County, we are very, very fortunate. All of the law enforcement agencies, we all get along great... And if something happens in this county, we are there, we are there together. " Sheldon said.
He added that the chiefs have a weekly breakfast meeting.
Coontz thanked the community for its support.
"All of the law enforcement officers in the county are very humbled that anyone would think about them, because I promise you, they aren't coming into work thinking about any recognition or reward," he said.
"They are just showing up to come and do what they think is their job and their duty. So it often throws them off when someone comes up to them and says, 'Hey, I want to thank you for your service,'" Coontz said.
Coontz reported serious crimes are down in Mansfield, which he called a "great example of law enforcement and the community working together."
The chief said he hopes this progress will allow the MPD and the other law enforcement officers it collaborates with to further focus on violent crime.
Funds to Support Law Enforcement
Near the end of the kickoff event, Maura Teynor of the Richland County Foundation announced two new funds for people interested in supporting law enforcement officers.
"We have a couple of donors who are passionate about supporting local law enforcement," Teynor said.
Merris and Jean Welge worked with the Foundation to establish two designated funds, one for the Ontario Police Department and one for the Mansfield Police Department. Another may later be started for the Sheriff's Office.
The first project to receive support from the Ontario Police Department Fund was a memorial to law enforcement in front of Ontario City Hall.
Anyone interested in supporting these funds, can visit richlandcountyfoundation.org.
Spread the Light's History
Richland County “Spread the Light” began in 2016 and is a localized approach to Project Blue Light, which started in 1988 in Philadelphia when a relative of a fallen police officer placed a memorial blue light in a window along with other seasonal decorations.
Its intent was to show others that they are not alone in their loss and to remember the officer who died.
The concept has since caught on nationwide. In 2015, a former Virginia policeman created National Blue Light Week to start something positive for law enforcement.
Free blue light bulbs will be available at Graham Automall and the Richland County Sheriff’s Office on a first-come, first-served basis.
Spread the Light Week Activities
Monday, Jan. 7: Coffee with a Cop at participating McDonald’s restaurants
Tuesday, Jan. 8: Mansfield Senior High School boys’ basketball game vs. West Holmes at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 9: Reading (with a cop) Wednesday
Thursday, Jan. 10: Cops & Kids. Kids at the Friendly House play dodgeball with police
Friday, Jan. 11: Dinner provided by Police Wives
Saturday, Jan. 12: Community Conversation: “Working Together for a Better Community” at Mansfield Senior High School auditorium
