DENVER (KDVR) — The Golden police officer who was hospitalized after a crash earlier this month has the support of not only her local community but people around the country as she recovers from her injuries.
On Nov. 6, Officer Bethany Grusing was seriously injured when a driver suspected to have been impaired crashed into her and fellow officer Evan Dunn as they responded to another accident. While Dunn was killed, Grusing remains in recovery.
No stranger to accidents like this one, Mark Miller lost a friend on the job a decade ago.
“In 2014, my sergeant, Dave Baldwin, was killed in the line of duty on Highway 93,” said Miller.
He decided to take that tragedy and use it to make an impact.
“His callsign was MC-1. So we called it the MC-1 Foundation,” said Miller.
The MC-1 Foundation, which Miller now is the president of, helps those in law enforcement who survive injuries in the line of duty. It’s a community Miller felt was underserved.
“Gives them money while they’re not working to make their monthly bills, take that stress off of their families,” he said.
In a decade of service, MC-1 has given away more than $400,000 to 30 people around the state, according to Miller. Their current task is raising money for Grusing.
“The community has done an overwhelming job stepping up to help her out in her name,” says Miller.
He founded MC-1 in Jefferson County and said that helping an officer so close to home has been rewarding. But it isn’t just people close by who are chipping in.
“We have several donations that came in from Florida, some from North Carolina and then all over the state too,” said Miller.
He didn’t want to disclose how much money has been raised for Grusing but said donations continue to come in two weeks after the crash. A show of support he said Grusing doesn’t take for granted.
“Talking to Bethany and her mom and dad, they are extremely grateful for the efforts, for the, you know, the help and support,” said Miller.
FOX31 reached out to Golden Police for an update on Grusing’s condition on Saturday but did not receive a response.
If you would like to donate to the MC-1 Foundation, you can do so by visiting the organization’s website. MC-1 will also host an online auction to benefit injured Colorado first responders from Dec. 2 through 8.
