For Police Officers, It’s Fun and Games for a Good Cause : Charity: Along with celebrities, they compete in tug-of-war, doughnut eating and other activities to raise money for homeless children.

Saturday was a long day for the Ventura Police Department.

First there was the illegal shoe incident. Then there was the jousting injury.

But it was all in fun, and for a good cause, as members of Ventura and Los Angeles county law enforcement agencies and a handful of celebrities got together on the Thousand Oaks High School football field to raise money for homeless children.

About 2,000 people turned out at the balloon-decorated stadium to see participants compete in a tug-of-war, a mile relay, a car push, an obstacle course and a doughnut-eating contest.

When spectators weren’t watching the competitions, they had plenty of food and drink booths to choose from and a chance to have their picture taken with Skipper the police horse.

Proceeds from the day are earmarked for Interface: Children, Family Services, a Ventura County social-service agency; Para Los Ninos of downtown Los Angeles; and the North Hollywood-based Better Valley Services, Inc.

“We all say we’re just coming here to have fun,” said Capt. Sean Conroy of the Ventura Police Department. “But we’re in a competitive line of work. We’ll go for it. Some of us won’t be fit for work tomorrow.

One of those would be Ventura Police Officer Al Davis, who broke his right ankle when he fell off a pedestal in the jousting competition. He had to be wheeled out on a gurney.

The injury was the second setback of the day for the team.

Earlier, their celebrity, actor Brian Patrick Clark of the soap opera “General Hospital,” almost got his team disqualified from the one-mile relay after he was caught wearing illegal shoes.

“You’re going to tell me that these spikes helped? I couldn’t even get any traction on the last turn,” he said. “I’m glad I didn’t hurt the team. I’m just the celebrity they got stuck with.”

Other Ventura County teams included the Ventura County Sheriff’s Main Jail, Oxnard Police Department, Ventura County Sheriff’s East Valley, Ventura County CHP and Simi Valley Police.

Simi Valley Officer Steve Ming said his team, which struggled all day, was out there primarily to support the cause.

“Right here, right now, we’re out here having fun. But every one of us knows what it’s like going into a home at 3 in the morning and having to arrest a mother because the kid is a mess,” he said. “Interface is a safe place for the kids.”

Interface provides shelter, counseling, treatment and education to women, children and families in crisis.

Ming said he also saw the day as good public relations. “The people out here and the kids get to see us as real people,” he said. “We’re just moms and dads just like everyone else.”

The East Valley Sheriff’s team was the top finisher among Ventura County contingents. They came in second in the mile run, third in the obstacle course, and sixth overall. The winner was the team from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s court services detail.

“We came in close to last in running last year,” said Deputy Jeff Hill. “This year we went through the department to find the fastest guys we could.”

The East Valley team was in a first place tie until they got to the doughnut-eating contest. “Nobody here wanted to eat doughnuts, so we had to draw straws,” said Hill. “We don’t have any big fat guys to eat. In fact, it’s our skinniest guy. We haven’t let him eat all day.”

He may not have eaten, but Deputy Brian Richmond didn’t have the appetite to win it for the department. His five doughnuts in two minutes dropped the team to fifth.

The doughnut competition, the last event of the day, charged up the audience, some of whom had been discouraged by a lack of celebrities.

“The person who I came to see isn’t here,” said Desiree Biesterfield of Thousand Oaks, who had hoped to see actor Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan had been scheduled to attend but did not show.

Earl and Saundra Stampley of Moorpark felt the same way.

“We came for two reasons, to support law enforcement and to see the celebrities,” Earl said. “We haven’t seen one celebrity yet. Where’s Pierce Brosnan?”

Brosnan never did appear, but celebrities on hand included actress Lindsay Wagner and actor Jack Scalia. The most notable no-shows were Brosnan and musician David Lee Roth.