O.C. Marshal Collars Police Games Crown
Kent Colton doesn’t usually go around hurting people, especially cops, but Friday he couldn’t help himself.
The 33-year-old U.S. marshal from Orange County chipped a bone in one policeman’s elbow and sent another officer off for treatment of a strained muscle during the wrist-wrestling competition of the 24th annual California Police Summer Games.
Then he got a gold medal for it.
Besides gold, silver and bronze medals, many of the 6,000 officers from all over the state take bruises, breaks and bumps back to their agencies after competing in 44 athletic events.
“Some sports are inherently high-risk sports,” said Skip LeMaster, a Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy who helped organize the weeklong event. This year there have been injuries from flag football, power lifting and soccer, he said.
“This is a very, very intense competition,” said LeMaster.
Many officers bring their families along for a week’s vacation during the games. The games drew an estimated 15,000 people.
“It’s fun,” said Colton. “The only other time you get a lot of police together is at funerals, and those are the bad times.”
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