Ryan Griffin Foundation Donates $8,000 To U-City For Police Dog

UNIVERSITY CITY, MO — The Ryan Griffin Memorial Foundation donated $8,000 to the University City Police Department's K-9 fundraising campaign at the U-City council meeting Monday night. Ryan Griffin died of an accidental drug overdose when he was just 20 years old. Now, more than a decade later, his family has turned their pain into a mission. Since 2008, the family's foundation has awarded more than $76,000 in scholarships to high school wrestlers, a sport Ryan loved. More recently, it has taken up the cause of donating K-9 dogs to local police departments, hoping to have a positive impact on communities by keeping drugs — like the ones that killed their son — off the streets.

Police Chief Larry Hampton thanked the Griffin family for their generous donation. "This puts us back on the right track of stopping, deterring and fighting crime," he said.

Kim Griffin, Ryan's mother, spoke at the council meeting. "On April 28, 2007, is when my life changed forever with finding Ryan gone from our lives from a heroin overdose at the age of 20. The foundation started as a means to keep Ryan's memory alive. Ryan was a wrestler at Francis Howell High School and because of his love for wrestling, we started this foundation in 2008," she said.

"For many years, I've felt in my heart the need to do something for drug awareness. Since 2012, nationwide communities have been faced with an opioid crisis. This epidemic has taken our childrens' lives from us too soon."

Griffin said she prayed about how to expand the foundation's mission to include drug awareness. "That's when I was given a message from God — 'K-9 dog.'"

Since 2015, the foundation has donated more than $40,000 to four police departments, including Wentzville, Hazelwood, Wright City, and University City, for the purchase, training, and equipping of police dogs.

University City officials said dogs are often able to break down barriers between officers and citizens and improve community relations, can be helpful in search and rescue and tracking operations, can locate evidence discarded at crime scenes by scent, and can be trained to detect illicit drugs. In November, the city acquired a dog named Rhino, but police say they still need money for training and equipment. The department's goal is to raise $25,000, and according to their GoFundMe page, they still have a ways to go.

"We have high hopes that [the dog] will have a positive impact in this community in helping to prevent distribution of drugs and to aid in saving lives," Griffin said.

First ward councilmember Terry Crow — who filled in for Mayor Welsch who left early to attend a funeral — thanked Griffin on behalf of the city. "We want to express our deepest sorrow for the loss of your son and the pain that it has caused you," he said. "To turn your pain into such strength for us — all we can say to you is, thank you so very much."

For questions regarding the K9 Unit, fundraising or donations, contact Capt. Fredrick Lemons via e-mail at flemons@ucitymo.org or by phone at 314-505-8661.

Photo: University City Police Chief Larry Hampton, left, and the Griffin family speak at the U-City council meeting Dec. 11. (J. Ryne Danielson/Patch)