Janet Krajcsik
pennlive.com
TOLEDO, Ohio — An 8-year-old boy, with some help from a friend, set up a hot chocolate stand this past weekend hoping to raise money for the family of a fallen Toledo, Ohio, police officer.
Max Titkemeier sold enough hot chocolate to raise $13,000 for the family of officer Brandon Stalker, 24, who was shot and killed during a standoff on Jan. 18. Stalker left behind a fiancée and two children, a 7-year-old and 3-month-old.
Stalker, who was doing perimeter security during a standoff with an arson suspect, was struck by a single bullet. He was rushed to a Toledo hospital, but later died.
Max and his friend Wesley braved the cold and held the fundraiser on Saturday and Sunday. Max said he wants to be a police officer someday.
This was not the first time Max raised money for an officer’s family. In July, he operated a lemonade stand and donated the proceeds to the family of Officer Anthony Dia, who was also killed in the line of duty in the early morning hours of July 4, says Cleveland.com.
The Toledo Police Department expressed its gratitude on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3595005833924679&id=168998209858809
(c)2021 The Patriot-News (Harrisburg, Pa.)