Charity hockey game raises
money for Toms River officer
On Feb. 18, Toms River Local 137 and the Camden County
Police Department held a charity hockey game to benefit a
fellow officer.
Brett Hansen served with the Camden County Police De-
partment before becoming a member of Local 137. In Janu-
ary, Hansen suffered an off-duty car accident that put him
in a coma for months with serious facial and brain injuries.
The event raised more than $22,000 for the Brett Hansen
Fund, which was created by Local 137 to help pay for his
medical costs.
“We want to do whatever we can to assist him and make
sure he doesn’t have to worry about finances while he’s inca-
pacitated,” shared Local 137 Delegate Jesse Robertazzi, who
helped organize the game.
Hansen’s mother and father attended the game and were
given a Toms River hockey jersey with their son’s badge
number (412) on the front. Despite having cancer, Hansen’s
mother mustered the strength to drop the opening ceremo-
nial puck on the ice in front of a crowd of about 400 support-
ers. Toms River Mayor Thomas Kelaher and the entire town
council also attended.
After the game, family and friends from both teams met
at Charlie’s Pizza in Manchester, where a local cover band
played. Five-dollar donations were collected for entry,
though many were generous enough to donate more.
“Everyone wanted to help pitch in,” Robertazzi stated. “It
was great seeing that type of support from both the town
and the police departments.”
Though the competition was fierce between Local 137 and
the Camden County Police Department on the ice, winning
wasn’t the goal of the game. Instead, both law enforcement
groups wanted to raise as much money as possible to help a
friend and fellow brother in blue on his path to recovery . d
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