MIAMI TOWNSHIP, Ohio — The Miami Township Police Department and Miami Township Fire & EMS will host their annual “Red, Blue and Boo” event on the evening of Oct. 30, bringing Halloween treats to children with disabilities who are unable to trick-or-treat door to door, the police department said in a Facebook post.
Families with a child who lives in Miami Township and cannot trick-or-treat because of a disability can email [email protected] with the child’s name, age and home address, according to a flyer the department shared alongside the announcement. Township police and fire personnel will then personally deliver a treat to that child on the evening of Oct. 30.
The event is held in partnership with the Clermont County Board of Developmental Disabilities and is intended to “promote public safety, community engagement, and positive relationships” between the township’s safety forces and residents, the department said.
The Clermont County Board of Developmental Disabilities serves county residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities from infancy through adulthood, according to the agency’s website. Its services include early intervention for children younger than 3, preschool and school-age programs, transition services for ages 14 to 22, and employment and community support for adults. The agency describes its mission as helping those it serves “expand their capabilities and navigate the possibilities.”
Miami Township police already maintain a confidential registry, known as Take Me Home, that gives officers advance information on residents with a developmental or cognitive disability who may wander or have difficulty communicating during an encounter with law enforcement. The database, which includes a photo, physical description and emergency contact information for each enrollee, is modeled after a program started by the Pensacola, Florida, police department and is used to help identify and safely reunite residents with conditions such as autism, Down syndrome, dementia or a traumatic brain injury, according to the department’s website.
Chief Robert Hirsch, who has led the Miami Township Police Department since 2024, joined the department in 2007 after serving as a military police sergeant in the U.S. Army. He rose through the ranks as a patrol officer, field training officer, supervisor and operations commander before being appointed chief, according to the department’s website.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Miami Township Police Department.