POWHATAN COUNTY, Va. -- Two weeks after a Virginia State University Police Officer was shot while investigating a disturbance, law enforcement officers from across Central Virginia came together to raise money for his recovery.
Officer Bruce Foster has worked with the university's police force for five years.
He was paralyzed as a result of the shooting.
On Sunday, the Prince George Patriots, a hockey team comprised of law enforcement officers from Henrico, Hanover, Hopewell, Chesterfield, Prince George, and Virginia State Police, played a scrimmage game at the Powhatan Ice Den to raise money for Foster and his family.
"It really hits home," said Officer Matt Dobbs. "Any traffic stop we conduct, any call for service you go on, any disturbance, it's a reality. It can happen to any one of us."
The game had been planned prior to the shooting that paralyzed Foster. The game was played in memory of Mike Walter, a special agent with Virginia State Police who was shot and killed while on patrol in Richmond's Mosby Court in 2017.
"When I heard about Foster, I just felt that sunken feeling, and I was thinking about his family and his loved ones," said Walter's wife, Jamie. "There are, as we see here tonight, so many people who are going to step up and continue to help. It's a long road."
Unit to Back, a nonprofit helping officers who've endured trauma on the job, also supported fundraising efforts for Foster's family.
"The resources that they will need are infinite, so we hope that we can contribute at least a drop in the bucket by having this hockey game here tonight, and drumming up some interest and pride in local law enforcement," said co-founder Chris Duane.
Throughout the game, the team raised more than $2,500 for Foster's family.
A Fund the First fundraising page has raised more than $57,000 for Foster so far.
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