Downtown Port Angeles police officer program almost $50,000 richer

Published 1:25 pm Monday, June 29, 2009

PORT ANGELES — The Police Department announced today that it has been awarded a $49,592.00 grant by the U.S. Department of Justice to help continue the downtown resource officer program.

The program — noted for the downtown resource officer, Duane Benedict, scooting about on a Segway electric scooter — was initiated in 2005 in partnership with the Port Angeles Downtown Association.

The downtown resource officer — who now has an office in the newly opened Gateway transit center at Front and Lincoln streets — was originally funded in part by the various downtown stakeholders who contributed annually approximately $23,000 to augment city funding for the position.