Latino Law Enforcement Group of Boston raises funds for Puerto Rico

DORCHESTER, Mass. — A group of local police officers who saw the devastation on the island of Puerto Rico firsthand are gearing up to raise as much money as possible for the victims of Hurricane Maria.

The members of the Latino Law Enforcement Group of Boston have recently returned from a trip to the island, where they were boots on the ground helping local law enforcement as they begun to recover from the hurricane.

“It was a humbling experience for us all, Puerto Rico needs some help,” said Officer Eliseo Marrero. “It was overwhelming for me to see them how hard they are fighting to survive.”

“The most that impacted me was visiting the officers homes that we were working with and seeing how they were impacted, homes without roofs, homes that are flooding and yet they still came to work, 12 hour days no days off and not one of them complained,” said Officer Izzy Marrero.

The trip also gave them the opportunity to check in on their family and loved ones who live in devastated parts of the island.

“It was a saddening feeling just coming and looking out into the island the vegetation is gone, it looks dried up almost like a bomb had hit the island and took out everything,” said Officer David Hernandez.

After seeing first hand how bad the damage is, these local law enforcement officers will continue to help as much as possible.

On Saturday, they were raising funds for the island at the Taste of the Caribbean Festival in Dorchester by serving food and raffling off prizes.

On Sunday afternoon, they kept the fundraiser going at the Boston Police VFW and are already looking for more ideas for future fundraisers.

Little by little the people of Puerto Rico will get back up on their feet with the help of these communities lending a helping hand from all around the country.

"Rest assured there is a lot of work to do, a lot of people that are in desperate need," said Richard Diaz.

Cox Media Group