Pickles for Police: Bessemer Academy students raise money for injured Pueblo officers

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) - When the Bessemer Academy Student Council learned that several Pueblo Police Department (PPD) officers were injured protecting the Bessemer community, they wanted to help. That's how they came up with the idea for a fundraiser called "Pickles for Police."

During the fundraiser in March, students sold large dill pickles for $1 each, and they collected a total of $200 for the injured officers. On Thursday, May 8, 2025, the students presented the check to the PPD, along with a jar of pickles. According to Pueblo D60, the donated funds will be divided among the officers currently recovering from their injuries.

The fundraiser comes following the March 18, 2025, officer-involved shooting in the Bessemer neighborhood, during which three officers were injured. At the time, Billy Soto was a suspect known to the PPD and wanted on attempted murder charges. Soto shot at officers multiple times and was ultimately hit in the exchange of gunfire and pronounced dead at the scene. All three injured officers are now out of the hospital, with the third and final officer returning home in mid-April.

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