General Facts about Officer Down, Inc.
Officer Down began in the summer of 2002 by then Sheriff’s Officer Sean C. Lavin of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office in response to the illness and demise of Sheriff’s Detective Kevin McManimon. Kevin was diagnosed, treated and ultimately succumbed to cancer within 30 days, leaving us on June 30, 2002. Kevin left behind his widow Donna, his Daughter Jessica, and his son Joe.
The McManimon’s, as so many families, were not prepared emotionally or financially for this hardship. Before Kevin left us, he spoke with then PBA 187 President Mike Vasil and asked him to ensure his family was ‘taken care of.’ After hearing this, Sean with the help of Sheriff’s Officers Christina Kalm and Mike Vasil worked tirelessly and in four weeks time they arranged, organized, and with the help of Michael Langsner of KatManDu, on August 10, 2002 conducted the first ‘SummerStock’, raising ten thousand dollars for the McManimon family. This event, as well as, monies raised from other events and generously donated by other PBA locals throughout the state helped significantly ease the financial burden the McManimon family faced.
