Organizers said they raised thousands of dollars for the family of fallen Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire during a roadside collection Saturday.

Hosted by Pioneer Hose Company of Brackenridge and the Harrison Police Department, more than a dozen volunteers collected donations from passersby on Freeport Road at stops near Morgan Street and California Avenue. Donations will go to a fund for McIntire’s family.

McIntire was shot and killed during a police foot chase nearby on Jan. 2.

A similar boot drive was held at the same time Saturday in Lower Burrell conducted by city resident Kathy Holmes and her friends.

Sandy Ruggieri of Natrona Heights volunteered on Saturday and collected donations for two hours during the late morning and early afternoon at the Harrison Sheetz gas station. She said they raised well into the thousands.

Ruggieri knows it won’t make everything better for McIntire’s family, but it’s important for the community to come together in support.

“I can’t imagine what (McIntire’s wife) Ashley is going through,” said Ruggieri. “This won’t take away the pain, but it is the least we can do.”

Melissa Vrotney helped organize the donation event, held at two locations along Freeport Road. She grew up in Brackenridge with McIntire; she remembers him for being kind and consistently there for neighbors.

She said McIntire’s death has broken the community, but is encouraged by the community’s response.

“This is an amazing outpouring of support and that is what he deserves,” Vrotney said.” It never should have come to this. He died protecting us.”

Jim Mazur, 71, lives right next to the intersection of Freeport Road and California Avenue in Harrison and walked up to volunteers to contribute. He said it was important to him because too many local police officers were losing their lives in the line of duty.

“It is tough to take,” said Mazur. “This guy put his life on the line for us.”

Several other police and first responder groups showed up for the Saturday event, including the police departments of Monroeville, O’Hara and Indiana Township, as well as Pioneer Hose from Brackenridge and Harrison’s Hilltop Hose.

Anthony Balog and his brother, Zachary, both Hilltop Hose members, volunteered at the donation collection. They said it was important to show that first responders support one another in times of need.

“So many first responders are a family,” he said. “We are a family.”

Kathleen Ransom, of Natrona Heights, gathered donations at Freeport Road and Morgan Street, at the Harrison-Brackenridge line. She said the outpouring of support has been strong — some people even donated twice while driving through.

She got to know McIntire through his work in the community, and the flood of donations was indicative of how much the area appreciated him.

“We both share the same desire to build a great community,” said Ransom, who works as a juvenile probation officer. “He was such a friendly guy, there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for Brackenridge.”

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